The City's Defenders(Part 1)
by JPLegends
Summary: Book one in The Guardian's Fight trilogy. Hunter Alec Feilds is new to the scene whole Guardian scene and is someone who the Speaker thinks can bring peace. He is paired with a unique Fireteam and they go on adventures for the City's safety. But their quests together may be the last, for their biggest enemy is operating behind the scenes.
1. Act 1: Chapter 1: Prolouge

**Hello, everyone! And welcome to one story of a trilogy! The Guardian's Fight will be an attempt to tell a cohesive story about Destiny. One that will be set as an AU where you will see how, in my eyes, the story is told. As usual, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have an idea for a story, leave a review. Special thanks to Raptor010 for providing three of the six main characters! Now then. Read on. I hope you enjoy.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

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 **THE GUARDIAN'S FIGHT: BOOK ONE**

 **THE CITY'S DEFENDERS**

CHAPTER ONE: Prologue

"It all started long ago. When the Traveler appeared. No one knows where it came from or why it was here, but we know that it appeared when we first colonized Mars, as provided by an ancient text dated back from in between the late twenty-first century to early twenty-third century. This being came not as an enemy, but an enigmatic friend. It helped us do things at the time we thought were impossible, and to take it one step further, magic. On Earth, human lifespans were tripled, all diseases were cured and all hatred between people was put aside forever. With the Traveler's help, we managed to colonize Venus, Mars and the Moon to their full extent, as well as turning Mercury into a garden world. We were tackling scientific and philosophical subjects that were highly advanced in theory. We played with the idea that humanity could turn digital, and we did so with our machine children. It was the time that humanity knew the stars were ours to conquer. A Golden Age.

But then the Darkness came. And everything went to Hell.

As not a lot of people or their children are alive today to tell what happened, what happened then was purely speculation. But we know that humanity's downfall was swift. The theory was that the Darkness, an old rival of the Traveler, came to us from all sides, demolishing everything and clouding everything into a ray of complete blackness. It struck so fast that we had only the time to rally arms in the inner system. It came so fast that Traveler could only react as fast as keeping it outside of the asteroid belt. The two were locked in conflict, the Traveler slowly being overwhelmed. But the Darkness wasn't alone, with its invasion came four more enemies.

The Hive: a species that's only desire is to consume and exterminate. Ancient cryptograms say that they did not rest, they did not colonize and they did not show any mercy. They drove us back en masse back to Earth, where we sacrificed our moon, our best teams of warriors, and thousands of tons of explosives. We killed their god, and they've been dormant ever since. But while we were down, the next three races took action.

The Fallen: the next race to arrive. They came immediately after the Hive to Earth, Venus and the Moon, Earth especially. They tore apart our cities, overwhelming every piece of territory they could find. They forced back to the Traveler in about the same time the Darkness closed in on Earth. More on that later.

The Vex: a group of machines. Mysteriously, they acted as sleeper agents, waking up when the Fallen arrived and striking at Mercury and Venus when the time was perfect. They pried Mercury from our grasp and made it their massive hunk of metal. And as the Fallen was encroaching on our territory, the Vex awakened in hidden territories on Mars and Venus and started their takeover. We've been halting the Vex's progress with Venus with constant attack. However, the next race is responsible for the slow of growth on Mars.

The Cabal: the wildcard of these races. They came in late, while the Fallen and Vex were taking territory. For some reason, they took a rather smart rout and came for the only piece of territory that has not been touched: Mars. They set up shop there and have been dormant ever sense, constantly looked in combat with the Vex that have been attempting to take over the planet.

While these conflicts have been pushing us to Earth, the Traveler has been in a losing fight against the Darkness, to the point where Earth was the only planet left that has not been encroached in darkness. We were trapped, in conflict with the Fallen under the Traveler while it was fighting the Darkness. Eventually, the Traveler did something that cost it its life. No one knows what the move was, all there is was speculation. But whatever it did, it destroyed the Fallen group we were being attacked by and pushed the Darkness back beyond our asteroid belt. In its dying breath, we were granted powers from the Traveler's Light and companions holding some of the Traveler, what we call "Ghosts."

And thus, humanity was in tatters. Small, vulnerable and weak. Times looked bleak for our survival. But one thing stayed true. Humanity was still alive and we strived to keep it that way. And our request was granted. From the wilderness came our robotic children from the Golden Age, their minds erased and now called "Exo." And from the planets previously covered by Darkness came the Awoken, humans heavily mutated by the Darkness's power. Many of the Awoken went to live in the Asteroid belt, now called "The Reef," but some of them stayed behind to help fight the good fight. And under the Traveler we prospered, building the last safe city on Earth. And at last, Humanity was returning to strength. We started campaigns with our newly found abilities, as we now entered the City Age.

We made much noise, and it took a few battles to keep us alive in this new day and age, but now humanity can stand strong and prosper! Hear me, my brothers! Our enemies are no longer as aggressive as they were in the past! They know their time is near, and now, we will drive them out of our system!"

This text came from The Speaker, when The City had finally risen to full strength.

Recorded by Jasper Kriflander.

6/15/2349.

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 **More chapters will come soon. Enjoy this series I will bring into action soon. Read on!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	2. Act 1: Chapter 2: Back From the Grave

**Hello everyone! So, I'll be alternating consistently between Destiny and the other two stories. Once one ends, I'll have less to put up with. So anyway, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have an idea for a story, please leave a review. So, now in to the story.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

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ACT I: FALLEN

CHAPTER TWO: Back From the Grave

Alec woke with a start, gasping greedily for air. For him, it was seconds after we was surrounded by explosions and his team, only to have everything swiftly end. But his body felt like it had been centuries. He found himself looking through a visor of a helmet he was not supposed to be wearing. He rolled over to see a skull looking straight at him. He gasped, jumping back. He gets to his knees, looking at himself and what he was wearing. Mixed colors of beige and white covered his jumpsuit as his belt held knives and whatever other tools he held. He was wearing a simple space helmet mixed with a scarf around his neck. He looks at his black, latex gloves, flexing his fingers and moving them around. He felt like he could do this forever, the pain still winding him. He looked up to see a small floating, white object with four pointed sides on the top, bottom, left and right of its eye. There is the same pattern near the back. The single eye is diamond shaped and is shaped like the machine itself. "Hello," The machine said in a light voice. "You're Alec Fields right? I'm Hades. I'm a Ghost. Well, I'm your Ghost. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and there are people who are willing to answer them. But right now, we need to get moving. We're in fallen territory."

Alec looks around. He is surrounded by rusting cars and bones, human and alien, and there is a soft grey patch of dirt beneath him. In front of him is a massive wall. The scenery, most of all is what confused Alec. Before he was fighting a war in a city, surrounded by explosions, friends and massive machinery. Now everything is gone, and there is a wall. "Where am I," Alec asks, his throat so dry he barely managed to get the words out. "Fallen territory? How long was I out?"

"You weren't out," Hades replies back. "You were dead for a long time. Hundreds of years. Listen, we don't have much time. I made a lot of noise bringing you back. We're sitting ducks out here. We need to get in the wall." Before Alec could wrap his head around anything, there was a wail out in the distance, echoing for a bit. More similar wails followed. And they didn't sound friendly. Then Hades disappears. Before panic settled in, Alec hears Hades' voice say "Don't worry, I'm still with you. Kind of. In the wall. Hurry!" Alec gets up and starts running through the maze of cars to the wall.

"So, from what I can gather," Alec says, while sprinting. "The aliens are the fallen. And we lost the Battle for Russia?"

"Yes." Hades says simply and brutally. Alec shivers. His friends are gone and they lost the war.

"So, why are we going through the wall?" Alec asks.

"The breach there could lead us somewhere. Mainly, we have to get out of here before we get swarmed by fallen. You heard how close they are."

"The area beyond the wall doesn't have any fallen?"

"Unlikely. If there's a breach, the fallen probably did it. They're all over Russia by now."

"Then how do we escape?" No response. Basically, Hades' plan revolves on running around until they find something that could possibly help. He runs into the breach and up a catwalk, running through the dark area. They go in further and further until they can no longer see. A flash of light appears that makes the view in front of Alec more visible but he still cannot see everything. Eventually, they reach a big open area that is complete darkness.

"There has to be a light switch somewhere." Hades says as he strays away from Alec. Alec, taking the hint, stays put until Hades finds something. The hum of a generator suddenly activates and some lights turn on. Alec swears as he sees swarms of Fallen on the walls and machines flying around to stop and turn around in confusion. An uproar fills the room and the human knows what the fallen think. There is a human. "Crap," Hades says panicky. "Through the gate! Grab that gun! Hurry!" Alec runs through an opening gate and sees a rifle leaning against a box. He picks it up and observes it. A Khvostov 7G-02 auto rifle. Not the best, but he cannot complain. At least now he has a gun. He runs through the hallway, crossing corners and sprinting at a high speed as the screaming grows quieter.

"What was that?" Alec asks, angry at the encounter.

"They were more intact in here than I thought," Hades says, sounding guilty. "Just keep moving. Look at your motion sensor. If any fallen appears, kill them." As Alec runs down a hall way, two humanoid creatures appear with strange helmets, with spikes on the right side of the helmet. It seems to be wearing light armor, along with rags like scarfs. They have a type of pistol in one hand and a dagger in the other. "Dregs!" Hades yells. Alec raises his rifle and aims for one of the dregs, squeezing the trigger. Three bullets hit the first dreg in the face, and the its head explodes, a white mist shooting out like a volcano. The next dreg fires three times at Alec, which lightly damages his shield. Alec squeezes the trigger and the alien takes rounds to the stomach sending it flying. A third dreg falls in right in front of Alec and draws its dagger. Alec reaches for a knife of his hip and swings. It clashes with the dreg's dagger and sends it to the side. Alec then stabs at the dreg's face, killing the creature. He continues running.

A destroyed wall is parallel to where Alec fought the Dregs. He slips through into a load out looking area inside are five dregs and a new fallen. "Watch that vandal!" Hades yells. The vandal appears more civil, with medium looking armor and four arms. He appears to be holding a rifle and is on top of a canister. Alec manages to get a few shots off at a dreg, which dies quickly, and the vandal. The latter shuffles back and holds up his rifle. Alec manages to slide into cover, where he waits out the impending storm of bullets. He peeks out to the left, seeing the vandal waiting to get a shot off while the two dregs on ground level are firing away. He looks to the left to see one dreg staying behind firing as another, only armed with daggers, runs forward. Seeing his chance, Alec waits until the dreg gets close and pulls his knife. Once he can see the fallen, he surges forward and stabs the dreg in the face. The other dreg tries to fire at Alec, but does not land anything before his head is blown apart.

Alec rushes forward, and the second he sees the vandal, he fires. The vandal takes quite a few shots but in the end, it fell. Alec spins to kill the last dregs and then runs to an opening hallway. Inside he sees a chest on a box. "That chest could have something valuable." Hades notes. Alec stops and opens the chest to find a sniper rifle. He puts it on his back holster without thinking and continues running. In the next corridor, there are lasers jutting out. "Trip mines," Hades yells. "Don't touch the beams." Alec crouches and shuffles under the first beam right as a dreg appears. Alec fires and gets through the next beam right as more dregs appear. He ducks behind a fork in the hall, and waits as the dregs shoot. In the end, he pops up and mows them down. He runs through the hallway to find himself in an arena of some sort, and a collection of eight dregs and five vandals. Alec gets off a few shots just in time to see a dreg fall and the others turn toward him. The human runs as the murderous aliens take aim and shoot, missing all the same.

As he runs, he manages to flank multiple enemies, using hit and run tactics to confuse the enemy. He does this over and over until all of the enemies are dead. One vandal in particular has a strap on his belt holding several round objects. Alec takes the band and sees that the objects are grenades, five in total, yellow in color. Shaking them around, he hears a sloshy sound of a likely viscous fluid. Crude twenty-fifth century incendiary grenades. You throw them and anything in a five foot radius gets caught in an explosion. Alec pulls the grenades from the strap and attaches them to his belt, moving through the door on the right to move outside of the wall and into a large area with rundown buildings to the front of him, what looks like unused warehouses to his left and a large yard with a concrete gate to his right. Covering the scape are large towers with spheres emanating from them. Early twenty-third century technology. Alec could not quite grasp what this place is, but Hades knew immediately.

"A Cosmodrome," the machine says. "If this place is still standing, and if everything isn't in bits…the docks! There could be a ship there!" Before Alec had any time to contemplate on anything, two weird looking ships pass through the air, one headed for the warehouses, the other headed for the yard. "Dropships! They know we're here," Hades says. "And there's a massive fallen troop headed for the gate of the dock! They're hiding something." Alec gets up on a rock formation and pulls out his sniper rifle, glancing through the scope to see what he's swarming. The ships dropped off a few vandals and another tall, broad shouldered and wearing heavy armor surrounding his four arms, his huge crested helmet and his red cloak.

"Who's that," Alec asks. "He looks important."

"That's a fallen captain," Hades says. "On the channels, they call him 'Rhan.' He was stalking me earlier when I was searching for you. If he's here, whatever is in there is important. Shanks coming out of the dock." Small hovering machines with propellers on their sides and turrets on their underside float out of the building. After a majority of the group goes inside, Alec counts the enemies. Ten dregs, five vandals and five shanks. The sniper rifle only has three rounds in it, so Alec has to make smart choices. He aims for a vandal's head and fires. A second later, some white, misty material is spewing out of their neck and he falls. The fallen begin panicking, scattering for weapons as Alec takes aim for another vandal. He fires again, and again at another vandal. The Fallen scatter around to find the attacker as Alec throws an incendiary grenade. As Alec reloads, he sees a massive explosion that throws multiple cars into the air. He looks back through the scope to see with satisfaction that the Fallen are dead. He runs for the dock and heads inside of the dock.

Running down the hallway, he sees two dregs and two vandals. In an instant, Alec pulls a grenade and throws it at their feet. The hall explodes and the fallen are dead. Moving on, Alec's motion tracker picks up large amounts of motion in the following room. He sees inside to see the captain, Rhan, three vandals and three dregs picking a jumpship apart, while five dregs, five vandals and three shanks stand guard. Alec picked two grenades from his belt and threw them at the fallen's feet, causing a huge explosion that kills all of the dregs and vandals standing guard. Ale picks off the shanks before they can fire right when the vandals and dregs fall with Rhan, the captain roaring loudly. The captain fires a four barreled gun, making Alec duck for a control room nearby. As he runs, he guns down two dregs and stabs a vandal in the face. He takes cover as the fallen fire. Alec peeps over cover to see the dreg and vandals in formation around Rhan, all firing furiously.

Alec takes his last grenade and throws it in the general direction, the gunfire masked by an explosion. The human pulls out his sniper rifle in time to see Rhan, without his shields, staggered and stunned, surrounded by dead fallen. Alec fires one gunshot, and kills Rhan. After, Hades teleports in and Alec holsters his gear. "We don't have much time," The human says. "My motion detector is picking up lots of movement behind us. How's the ship?" Alec never got a good look at the dusty, rusty ship before. An ancient Arcadia-class jumpship, shaped like an arrow with a long tipped nose and rockets in the back.

"It's ancient," Hades replies, flying around the ship to get a good look for it. "It probably hasn't made a jump in ages. Found the engine. Telemetry reads really weak power though. Can't break atmosphere."

"But can it fly?" Alec asks. If they can get out of this area, then the problem is solved.

"I can make it work." Hades says, firing a blue beam at the back of the ship where the engine would be. Alec hears a few roars behind him, and a minute later dregs appear. Around the same time, the ship begins to hover. Alec is teleported inside and is faced with old controls. Gunfire taps the armor of the ship, as Hades teleports into existence. "Setting co-ordinates. I'll drive." The ship lifts into the air above the roofless building and flies far up into the clouds, escaping the area where Fallen area swarming. After clearing fifty meters from the dock, Alec finally sits back and relaxes.

"So," He says. "Where now?"

"Nepal." Hades answers simply, not looking away from the dirty console.

"Why Nepal?" Alec asks, bewildered about the strange question. They just started to clear the Russian border, they're headed to an area in Nepal.

"You don't understand, right," Hades says, then turning to Alec. "Well, there was a huge battle in Nepal when the Darkness closed in. Humanity was surrounded at all sides and everyone was about to die until the Traveler…did something. I'm not sure what, but it forced the Darkness back and annihilated all of the enemies in the area. It also cost the Traveler its life. But its light still is active in that area, meaning under the Traveler is where we're most safe. So…"

"City comms, identify yourself." A voice says from a radio.

"This is a Ghost, I've come with a new Guardian." Hades replies back.

"Confirmed," The voice says. "Welcome home." The feed comes in as they break from under the clouds to see the massive white sphere that is the Traveler, and beneath it a City so large and alive it made the area in Russia look primitive. They appear to be headed toward the largest tower in the area.

"This is the Last Safe City on Earth," Hades says. "It was used a safe haven to keep humanity alive. Now, we're counting every day it stands. And this tower is where the Guardians live."

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 **The worst part about long chapters is the editing. I'm lazy, so I usually don't do it. But still. I hate. If you like this chapter, please tell me what I can improve. I'll see you around, guys.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	3. Act 1: Chapter 3: The City's Calvary

**Hey, guys! So, I'll be writing as long as you guys want me too. The story is just getting started, and this is going to be a dozy. Multiple acts of the story, and each with a (hopefully) gripping plot that will get the nerves pumping. I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas (or lack of thereof), ect. I have a small idea for Wattpad and I'll be brainstorming on. When the story comes, likely after one of the three I'm writing is finished, I'll tell you! Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

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ACT I: FALLEN

Chapter Three: The City's Cavalry

Seeing the Traveler dead in the sky filled Alec with dread. A dead god, waiting in the sky for its followers to revive it. But on the bright side, the Last City was breathtaking. So many lights and colors blinking and moving, along with the massive wall in the distance which stood mighty and tall. But the view behind him was even more exciting. The Tower Plaza had three slim obelisks in the form of a triangle in front of him, a long tent to his right with a blue skinned man in a yellow robe typing away at a console along with a bland building entrance, a bazaar area to his left along with a building entrance with a balcony, and ahead of the obelisks was a platform heading down and two stair cases headed up on both sides, with a robot in front of a holographic screen, two birch trees on either side, and a large tall structure shaped like an arrow. Many different people were talking, sparring, buying, trading, dancing and whatnot. Ghosts like Hades were flying through the air like turtle doves. The crisp winter air was nipping at his skin, and the soft grass was swaying softly. For the first time since Alec's rebirth, he felt at peace. He could really settle here.

"I'll show you around," Hades says. "First off, we need to identify your class and sub-class. It's procedure to show any new Guardians to the Vanguard. They're the authority of this place, so show respect." Hades hovers through the plaza, Alec following. They head down the stairs into the tower nearby, and down another flight revealing another compartment. A tall, muscular man in half-white, half-orange armor is on the right side of the room, with an assortment of weapons and artifacts on the wall behind him. He appears to be talking to another guardian. On the other side is a robot typing away on a console, with a similar assortment of artifacts behind it. Ahead is a large hall. "This is the Hall of Guardians," Hades says. "The Representative of the Crucible, Lord Shaax, is here along with his Quartermaster Frame. Ahead is the Vanguard Hall. They're expecting you, so remember: show respect." Hades hovered inside of the room, and Alec followed.

Alec was expecting much more by what his ghost was saying. He didn't know what to expect, but he expected it to be larger than life. Instead, he got a table with three people who looked no different than the guardians outside. The man on the far end of the table had pale blue skin, bright blue eyes and no hint of hair. He was rather short, shorter than Alec, who was 6"2'. He looked about 5"6'. He had heavy armor, with his under armor black and red. His shoulder pads here unique: he had a grey rounded shoulder pad on his right shoulder and a tall red one on his right. He had a massive chest plate with a flacon design painted on it, grey gauntlets, grey leg armor and grey knee-high boots. He had a black cloth wrapped around his waist. Before him on the table was an array of battle figures and war artifacts.

The person on the far side of the table looked, as Alec would put it, cool. He appears to be a blue robot with yellow eyes, and a grey forehead plate with a horn sticking out of it. He was wearing a cloak that went down to his waist with the hood over his head, a beige battle worn scarf and beige leather armor, with a strap that goes around his shoulder and a knife on his belt. He was as tall as Alec and stood with a sense of tongue-and-cheek power. On the table before him was an old, worn out map. When he talked, the insides of his mouth glowed bright yellow.

The woman at the back of the table was African-American, with a purple robe and yellow outline. Her eyes were a chocolate brown, as well as her skin, and her black hair was short and close-cropped. On her right arm was a metal band that held tight around her arm. She was taller than the blue guy yet shorter than the robot. On the table before her was an assortment of books. She stood with closed off body language, and Alec was noted that unless he was summoned by her, never to approach her. They were talking until they saw Alec and they turned at full attention to him, being respectful. "You're the new guardian," The blue guy says in a rather deep voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard. The Exo is Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard and the woman is Ikora Rey, the Warlock Vanguard. Let's get started. What type is your Light?"

Alec made a mental note who these people were. But he got completely lost when Zavala asked about his "Light Type". "I'm sorry," Alec said. "I don't exactly know what 'Light' is."

"Right," Cayde-6 the robot says in a light, dancing voice. "The Light is what gives us guardians our abilities. It acts as an extra piece of strength and it gradually makes you stronger as you go. It feels like an extra layer of blubber. It flows throughout your body."

"Summon your Light," Ikora the human says in a soothing voice. "Stretch out your hand, single out that 'extra layer of blubber' as Cayde puts it, and make it pulsate." Alec pushes out his hand and closes his eyes. He can feel the quote-on-quote "extra layer of blubber" flowing through him warmly, filling him with radiance. He focuses on it and makes it pulsate. A 'fwoosh' sound fills the air followed by snapping and crackling. He opens his eyes to see himself radiating sunlight and fire.

"Solar Light," Ikora says. "That makes you either a warlock or a hunter. Focus all of that energy to your hands and when you feel something solid, pull it out." Alec makes all of the sunlight emanating from him and focuses it to his hands, a ball of rolling fire and light circulates around his gun hand and, like Ikora said, he felt something solid. He grabbed it and pulled, pulling out a revolver glowing yellow with sunlight and burning with fire.

"Mmhmm," Cayde says, nodding. "Gunslinger. He's a Hunter. Come with me, kid. Anything to get me away from this job." Cayde walks past Alec, patting the new Hunter's arm. Alec follows him and they walk past the robot outside in the plaza and into a new area. A line of water went down the middle of the area, surrounded by grass flowing in the wind. The area was empty with a view of the snowy mountains of Nepal, said snow flying gently onto the floor. "Welcome to the Traveler's Walk," Cayde says, motioning to the mountains. "Beautiful view, isn't it?" Alec nodded. The view was breathtaking.

"Now I'm sure you have a million questions," Cayde says walking down the mock river. He pulls out his ghost, which is grey in color compared to Hades's white. "Archimedes, send the new guardian's ghost the Grimoire." The ghost dubbed Archimedes hovers over to Hades and shoots a blue beam into Hades's eye. "I just gave you the Grimoire, which was written by Sir Wallace Thermingire. The old Warlock took everything to know about our enemy, ourselves, several theories, our history right into one book. It'll most likely answer most of your questions, but I can answer some others if you want me to." On 'want me to', Cayde spun around and pointed at Alec. "But first," Cayde said, holding up his hand in a stop sign and pulling out a silver, rectangular object, which then showed a blue holographic screen. "You're report. Alec Ulysses Fields, resurrected by the ghost Hades. According to Golden Age reports, or lack of thereof, you did some things…" He wagged his finger and made a _tsk-tsk_ sound. He throws the report to Alec, who catches it and reads his profile.

 _Alec Ulysses Fields: wanted for…_

 _Arson, murder, theft, breaking and entering, fraud, embezzlement…_

Alec couldn't read any further. "I didn't do any of this, Cayde. I don't remember this."

"Oh, no one does," Cayde says. "Throw that phone back to me," Alec threw it and Cayde caught it between his two fingers. "Bad arm. Throw harder. Anyway, Golden Age decrypted profiles have a reason for this. The ghost can recreate your matter, but your memories will never come back. Some might come back, the most recent ones anyways. The environments around you can help recreate some experiences. But to us, and even you, you've just been born. Make sense?"

"Yeah." Alec responds back. He still has tons of questions. About the city, about the guardians.

"Good, because you'll need how to use that gun," Cayde spun around, grabbing the old artifact. "It's an older gun, from The Before. In fact, you shouldn't even have a gun yet. Hades, what happened?"

"We were ambushed by Fallen," Hades says, looking at Alec and then back at Cayde. "We had to find a ship to escape. He killed the Devil Captain, Rahn."

Cayde whistled. "Impressive. Especially for your obsolete gun and less than great armor. Speaking of which, after our meeting go meet up with the gunsmith Banshee-44, along with our cryptarch Master Rahool and our shipwright Amanda Holliday. Archimedes, give Hades a basic armor engram set. Any questions?" Archimedes goes back to shooting a blue beam into Hades's eye. Alec thought about what to ask first. There was so much and they only had so much time.

"Tell me about the City." Alec said. He definitely was curious about the area.

"Interesting choice kid," Cayde nodded and leaned on the railing, looking off into the mountains. "The City rose after the Dark Age, the period of time that came right after the Collapse. In that time there was an immense amount of suffering, with people running rampant, forming their own communities and as the threat rose, guardians like you and me stood up to face the challenge. The Dark Age may have swallowed everything, but hope never died. And from that hope came the area under the Traveler, where we ultimately built a community, a way to keep humanity safe. We built walls. Not only the walls around our city, but walls around areas of interest where Fallen now roam free, and at this point, we're basically trying to trap and kill them all before they do the same to us. That's how the City was founded, kid. Hope that humanity will get their legs back and walk again."

"What about the content inside of the City?" Alec asked.

"Sixteen districts inside of these walls," Cayde said, rubbing his upper eye-lids as if he was trying to remember the specifics. "One a rural district, three suburban, the rest urban. We have five of those urban districts dedicated to homes for our civilians, three industrial districts, three districts for our factions and one district dedicated to us: the guardians. Our tower is the home of our guardians. We pretty much run and protect the place."

"The guardians govern the City?" Alec asks

"Nope, and this is where it'll scare you," Cayde turns toward Alec and looks him in the eye. "Those factions I told you about? The Future War Cult, Dead Orbit and the New Monarchy, they help us run the City. They keep everything together while we protect the place." That did scare Alec, but considering the place wasn't in shambles, it seems to have worked well. "I recommend joining one. Send a message to one of the Faction Handlers if you want to join one. They're always eager to have another guardian in their ranks."

"What about the Fallen?" Alec asks.

"We have butchers at our gates-four-armed and eager for slaughter," Cayde nods, pointing his hand at the distant mountains. "Those butchers are the Fallen. Ruthless scavengers. Brutal, uncaring, they look noble but they want territory. _Our_ territory. We do have issues with other planets, but until we get the Fallen off of our backs, our City will never be safe. We can't stop focusing on them. Not for a second. You did help a bit by popping Rahn, but what we need to focus on are High Servitors, Archons and Kells in the Houses of Devils and Kings."

"Devils _and_ Kings," Alec asks, shocked. "There are divided sects of these guys?"

"Ohhh yeah," Cayde nods. "There's the House of Devils, House of Kings, House of Winter, House of Exile and the House of Wolves. And they're the least of our problems. Again check the Grimoire for more details. Anything else?" Alec's head was swimming. There was so many Fallen on Earth and the worlds and they aren't the _least_ of their problems. But he still had one last question.

"What makes a Hunter any different from a Titan or a Warlock?" He asked. Cayde grinned, as if he'd been waiting for Alec to ask this question.

"Well, Alec," Cayde said, grabbing Alec by the shoulder so that they are both looking at the pavement. "Imagine this. We're on the battlefield, surrounded by enemies. Titans are on the front lines, holding the line while taking out as many enemies as possible. The Warlocks are in the back, providing all sorts of fire support and healing. The Hunters are the cavalry! We're in the enemy's midst, causing all sorts of chaos. We're far away keeping people away as crowd control with a sniper rifle. We move quickly, we strike quickly and we go back to stalking our prey. That's what puts us apart. The Titans have their walls, the Warlocks have their libraries but the Hunters! The Hunters have the wilds and we are the masters of those wilds! You get me?" Alec nods. "Good," Cayde pats his shoulder and starts walking off. "Visit Master Rahool, Banshee and Ms. Holliday. And also, I'll book you an apartment immediately so after you're done with munitions, go check the postmaster Kadi 55-30. He'll have your room key when you're done. See ya round, kid." Alec was left standing there, rather shocked at what he had just witnessed.

"So," Hades says, the parts surrounding his eye rotating. "That was interesting. " All Alec could do was nod. This is going to be an interesting life.

* * *

 **So, that happened. Enjoy the chapters as they come out. I kind of left this one on hinge considering its way too long anyhow. So, another chapter will be releasing shortly. God bless and Happy Easter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	4. Act 1: Chapter 4: Munitions

**Hey, guys! So, how was your Easter? Was it good? Anyway, I hope you had a blessed Easter. So, as usual, I don't own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or an idea for a story or otherwise, please leave a review. Remember, this is a semi-kid friendly author. I'm not writing any questionable content. I am open to ideas though. So, read and enjoy!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: FALLEN

Chapter Four: Munitions

Hades had marked the locations that Alec needed to go ahead of time when Cayde instructed them to get their munitions. The first location was the tent with the man in the yellow robe: Master Rahool. Rahool was one of the blue guys, who had light blue skin and bright blue eyes. His robe had a black hood with white rims, a white scarf, a beige shawl wrapped around his shoulders and upon further notice, a black and yellow design on the robe. He was holding a type of tablet in his hands. "You must be the new guardian," Rahool says in a low, long and drawn out voice. "I am the Master Cryptarch, Ensign Rahool. I am in charge of decrypting armor and weapons from engrams and finding out more about humanity's Golden Age. All we have at this point are theories, if you understand."

"We do," Alec says, motioning toward Hades. "My ghost has an engram set that we would like to decrypt." Hades does something Alec has never seen before: he separates his white shell from his eye, leaving a black ball surrounded in a blue energy field. Rahool looks to his tablet and begins tapping away at it.

"Cayde-6's iconic Brusilov 1.0 set," Rahool says turning toward the table, as something begins to come into reality. "Just enough Light so you can wield it. You should notice your Light will go from five to twelve. There." Rahool puts down his tablet and grabs a set of grey armor. He hands the set to Alec and the armor disappears. "You're ghost has it," Rahool says. "As you come about enemies, your companion will scan them and when they fall, it will strip them of any engram sets they have automatically. Good luck, guardian." Rahool goes back to his tablet. Alec, nods and walks away from Rahool's tent.

"Next, you need a gun," Hades says. "One that isn't out of date." Alec walks to a stand on the left to the birch tree left of the robot behind the holographic screen. The hut was silver in color and behind it was an Exo, Banshee-44. Banshee was a blue colored robot with sapphire blue eyes and a yellow forehead design with antenna protruding from his head. He was wearing an indigo turtleneck with a green shawl around his shoulders, a blue sweater where you could see his yellow hands. He had a red sash tied around his waist and beige camouflaged pants. Behind him was a selection of guns hanging on the walls.

"Guardian," Banshee greeted in a quick and gravelly voice. "I know you don't have glimmer. So, as customary with new guardians, you get a gun free of charge. Here." He goes behind him and picks out three rifles. One was black-and-white camouflaged with a compressor and a large magazine. The second had a long barrel and a large stock, with a blocky shape that Alec assumed to be the magazine. The last one had a huge barrel and a magazine behind the stock. Banshee picks up the camo rifle, pulling out the magazine. "This is a Cydonia-AR2. Auto rifle, full instrument of war. For those who like to attack with a barrage with bullets." Banshee puts the magazine back in and puts the gun back on the table. He picks up the gun with the huge stock and pulls out the block shape, revealing it as a magazine. "This is a Trax Callum I. Scout rifle, built for precision. For those who aim for the head." He puts the magazine back in, under the stock and puts the gun on the table. He then picks up the one with the magazine behind the stock, pulling out the magazine. "This is a Psi Umbra I. Pulse rifle, firing in short, sharp bursts. Long range, for those who aim from the neck up." He puts the magazine back in and puts the gun on the table. "Take your pick."

Alec took a while to think about this choice. He wouldn't really call himself a marksman, so the scout rifle was out right way. Burst fire did not sound all that useful to him either. And what could beat an old, reliable assault rifle? "I'll take the Cydonia." He said. Banshee slid the rifle over and put the other two guns away.

"Make sure to clean that once a week," the Exo said. "You don't want it to jam. Good luck, guardian." Alec picked up the gun, and felt it in his hands. It was nice, hefty. It had a shiny, omninous gleam to it and the magazine slid right out. The ammo counter was on the back of the barrel on a blue screen. He nodded and threw the gun over his shoulder. It would come in handy later. One of the last stops to make was at the hangar and then they would be good to go. Alec walked past a platform behind the tent of Master Rahool, and through the door with a sign that said "Tower Hanger" in English, Portuguese and Chinese. After a staircase, he entered an area where he was behind a fence where he could see his Arcadia ship, shining and brand new. Other ships were flying in and out of the area, robots fixing the damages and some ships flying away.

Beyond a staircase leading up to the hangar, there was a robot behind a desk and on another level above him was a blonde haired woman sitting on a desk with blueprints. Amanda Holliday. Away from that was a large rectangular room near the ceiling and a staircase leading up to it. Below that was another staircase, leading to another area. Alec walked up to Holliday, looking at her as she typed away at her tablet. She had shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a red scarf wrapped around her shoulders along with a black and grey jumpsuit for a ship. She had dirt and grime smudged all over her face. "Look who it is," Holliday said in a southern accent. "You're the new guardian, I presume? Owner of that Golden Age Arcadia Class beauty?" She looked over at Alec's ship.

"Yeah," Alec said, looking at her. "How is it?" Holliday looked at him a smirk forming on her lips.

"Pristine edition, considering where it's been and who it's been with," She said, looking at a nearby tablet. "Your ghost was able to make it run, we made it run better. Problem is, Fallen got to it first. First thing they got to was the NSL Drive. Without that drive, you'll never be able to break orbit. And we can't make a new one. No sir-ey. Our frames say it takes a specific type of drive to make that ship run. And since it is Golden Age technology there is no chance of tracking that down." Alec thought about this. The Golden Age was a time of technical perfection. But whatever comes from the past eventually carries down into the future. Design, technology and Jumpdrives.

"What's the closest modern day design of the drive used in this Arcadia ship?" Holliday smirked, appreciating Alec's cleverness.

"That would be Phaeton Version 1 Class ships, guardian." Holliday says, taking a look at her tablet.

"Thanks for the assist." Alec says.

"The pleasure is mine," Holliday nods. "When it's time to leave, notify me. The ship is yours." Alec nods and walks away from the hangar. All that is left is to get his room key for the Tower and he should be set. Alec heads back to the plaza and to the small bazaar area where he sees a "frame" standing in a metal hut in the bazaar, typing away at a holographic computer. The frame has a rectangular head running the length of the body, with a glowing blue eye and a microphone near the bottom of the shape. The design of the frame resembles a metallic skeleton and it is wearing a blue and yellow vest with the postmaster symbol. This frame must be Kadi.

"Hello, guardian," Kadi says in a woman's voice. "Welcome home. You have…one delivery from Cayde-6." Kadi hands out a dark blue key card, with the design of a sphere, a circle surrounding the sphere and two more spheres connected to the circle. The symbol for the Earth, the Moon and the Traveler. Alec takes it. It reads "Room X-H88. Floor 1,090". "Enjoy your stay at the Tower." Kadi turns away and continues typing away at its computer. Alec walks away into the north area of the tower going into a nearby elevator. There are three thousand floors in the building when Alec looked at the elevator. The buttons were on a screen which scrolled up and down the floor list.

"Floor 1,090. Section X, division H." Alec said. The elevator entered an extremely fast fall which lasted for a minute or so until it slowed down and came to a halt. The door opened and Alec found himself in a finely furbished hallway. A red carpet lined the way as he went down the hallway, trying to find his room. Eventually, he found room X-H88. There was an iron door with a card reader connected to the door and wall. There was no handle, the reader was in its place. The frame "X-H88" was holographic and stayed stuck to the iron door. Alec slid his card into the card reader. The door clicked and slid open, letting Alec in his new room.

The term "room" is an understatement. Alec preferred suite. The place had fine wood walls and flooring, with a red carpet laid out in the entire room. The place was complete with a kitchen in front of him, which was its own little room, and it had a desk that connected into the living room. The kitchen had fine oak desks, with a microwave, fridge, oven and cupboards. The living room had steps that led into a circular area with an L-shaped couch. On the room to the right of the living area was the armory, where Alec could keep his weapons and armor when needed. The room to the left was a bedroom, with a king sized bed and huge bathroom. The most spectacular of all was the windows in the bedroom and living room. They were the size of the wall and it allowed him to look over the entire city in all of its glory. Alec slung his new armor and Cydonia rifle in the armory and slouched on the sofa, where he picked up a nearby phone and requested that Hades downloaded Sir Wallace Termingire's Grimoire into the device.

Alec sat reading about the blue guys which are called the Awoken, the Reef which in an area in the asteroid belt, Venus, Mars, the Fallen, Hive, Cabal and City. After three hours, Alec noticed it was late. He put the phone away and leaped into bed. He fell right asleep, knowing the real work starts tomorrow morning.

* * *

 **I hoped you liked this chapter. If you have a story suggestion, criticism or anything like that, leave a review. It helps me get better and I want to make better content for you guys! See you next chapter.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	5. At 1: Chapter 5: Into The Fight

**Hey guys! So, I'm here with another chapter of Destiny. Unfortunately, MY BUTT EXPLODED! Well, now that I'm done stealing Markiplier's joke, I need to let you know that I've come across an obstacle and the next chapter of my Steven Universe story will not release tomorrow. Instead, you'll get Mass Effect. Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its ideas, characters, ect. Please leave a piece of criticism below. Check out my Wattpad for my original story "The Blade of Dragon's Bane." Read and enjoy.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: FALLEN

Chapter Five: Joining the Fight

"Hades, what are we looking for?" Alec asks, making careful precautions to make sure he does not make his ship start diving. Piloting was difficult, and the hunter had a difficult time keeping the ship in place. As such it would sway from left to right before Alec kept it straight. They were speeding from Nepal back to Russia, the co-ordinates of the Cosmodrome. The faithful ghost appeared at Alec's side with a _fwoosh_.

"NSL Drive of a Phaeton Class 1 Jumpship," The ghost say with a digital reverb. "Wouldn't be a problem, but we are looking over the Fallen House of Devils. We have to hope we beat them to the punch." Alec remembered from the Grimoire that the House of Devils claimed the Cosmodrome and the surrounding areas. They were taking whatever they could salvage and building a society out of it. Hunting for a drive in that place would be nigh impossible, and looking somewhere else is impossible because the ship can't break orbit. Getting another ship in the first place is off the table because apparently those cost glimmer, the City's currency. Alec was outraged he didn't even get a fund out of his work. So, he did the logical thing before he left the Tower and had Hades scrub Guardian coms for information on crashed ships.

"An SOS signal was carried to the City around five o'clock this morning. Playing," All Alec could siphon from the recording was static, chatter and the sound of an explosion. "Guardian ID was a Charles Masse, in possession of a Phaeton 1 ship. No ghost has reported back since. Masse was reported KIA an hour before we left. You are following Masse's crashed ship and the estimated co-ordinates of where he crashed." Alec shuddered. But seeing as he was nearing the land zone, he started pulling below the clouds. On the feed he could see a crashed ship that looks like Alec's own, but more like a fighter jet. Three Devil Fallen were picking at the ship. Alec pulled the ship a little bit away to a ledge, where he was adjacent to the ship and its fallen. Hades teleports Alec to the ground and the ship flies off. Alec puts on his helmet and loads his rifle.

He runs over to a hill where he can see the three fallen. Dregs, armed with nothing more than shock pistols. One at the nose, one below at the engines and one on top at the cockpit. Alec pulls out his sniper rifle and peers at the dregs through the scope. He aims at the dreg at the cockpit's head and twitches his finger. The head disappears and is replaced by a flowing, white substance. Their soul, according to the Grimoire. The other two fallen start yelling, pulling their pistols and daggers. Alec moves his scope to the dreg at the nose. Another shot and the fallen's soul starts pouring out of its neck. The third dreg sees Alec and fires at him. Alec rolls out of the way of the fire, pulling a throwing knife. He throws it and it lands the fallen in the forehead. The dreg crumples and falls. Alec puts away his rifle and runs down to the ship. He reaches up his hand, summoning Hades, who instantly begins scanning at the ship's nose with a blue light. Alec stands guard near the dead fallen, watching intently. The action might have caused some suspicion.

"Nothing," Hades says. "Drive's swiped. They probably took it back to their hording pile." Hades flies over to the fallen corpses, scanning each of them. Alec takes in the Earth. The place is quiet and serene, with a few fallen yells every now and then. The winter air was crisp and cold, refreshing. Earth, although ruined, was beautiful. Hades ruined it with his news. "They have nothing either. I'm detecting the ship's fuel source in the air. Scanning. Bad news, it leads to Dock 13."

"Has the situation there increased?" Alec asks Hades, tearing his attention away from the landscape. The look Hades gave him was the answer. They had to storm the area if they want the drive. "Well, I guess we're headed to Dock 13." Hades hovers in front of him quickly, in a manner of urgency.

"Bad idea," Hades said. "There are rumors an archon was nesting there. Why not just wait for another ship to crash?"

"We'd have to wait for a long time," Alec answers. "And even then, the Devils would be one step ahead of us. This is our only chance to get what we need." Hades makes a grunt sound and vanishes. Alec followed Hades' co-ordinates to the dock that was thirty meters away to the north-east. The dock looked different on this side and the wall was closer to the dock than before. The ceiling looked collapsed and there was no sign of fallen anywhere. Unfortunately, Alec knew there was a ton of the Devils inside, due to the motion detector lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Once we get inside, the Devils will begin to flank us at every corridor. We only have a set amount of time to find that drive and get out before we lose can't escape. Have our ship on standby, Hades." Alec says, pulling out his auto-rifle and taking a deep breath. He charges forward and goes through the damaged corridor, going down a long, dark hallway.

"Behind you!" Hades yells halfway down the hall. Alec spins around and sees two dregs drop down from the ceiling and a vandal from a grate on the floor. Dregs armed with shock pistols and vandal armed with a shock rifle. Alec fires at the dreg on the left, killing it quickly. The next dreg quickly fires and Alec's shields take damage, but Alec barrages it with bullets, killing it. The vandal drops to the ground and leaps away, avoiding Alec's bullets. Alec throws a knife at it and lands it in the chest. It clicks in pain and falls over dead. Alec reloads and hears the surrounding chants of the fallen. "Uh, down the hall to the right." Hades says. Alec keeps going. Left, right, left, left, right. A few fallen pop up here and there, but otherwise Alec was moving way too fast for the Devils to keeps up. "The Devils have blocked the exits. Ship coming in," Hades says. "The drive should be in the hangar on the left."

In this room is a pile of junk in the center of the room with a platoon of fallen surrounding it. One captain, five vandals and a purple spherical machine with an eye in the center. A servitor. If it was here, the fallen know what Alec is here for. "Hades, get that ship in, ASAP," Alec says. "Once I get the drive, I need to be off the ground yesterday." The fallen take notice and two of them shimmer and disappear. Cloaking tech. Stealth vandals. Alec throws a grenade toward the group in the center, and the other three vandals die in the explosion. The hail of fire starts focusing and Alec runs across the room. As long as the servitor is providing cover fire, Alec will never be able to kill the captain. He stops abruptly and throws a knife at the servitor's eye. The machine is staggered and shakes a bit. He fires at it until it cracks and explodes. A second after, one of the stealth vandal appears in front of him and prepares a swing. Alec steps back and pivots, avoiding the swing.

After the swing, Alec moves forward and shoves his combat knife in the vandal's chin muscles. The head cuts open and the soul pours through. Another fallen appears a little bit away, Alec aiming his gun and firing at it, the head exploding and the soul pouring out once again. Alec reloads and fires at the nearby captain. It takes the entire magazine to kill the captain. With the room cleared, Alec summons Hades and shoves him toward the pile. Alec reloads and points his rifle at the door, the screams getting louder, closer and the motion detector became inflamed in red coloring. "Got it," Hades says, transmitting the device to Alec's pack. "Ship ETA is three minutes."

"Our way out is blocked," Alec says. "We have to hold the position until it gets here. My motion detector says we're surrounded, they're on top of us."

"They're watching," Hades says. "And right behind us. They're in the walls! It's Riksis!" The fallen climbs out of the wall panels and pulls out a gun kind of like a shock canon, but with solar ammo. Scorch Cannon. Four meters tall, massive shoulder pieces with spikes, plates all over, a red scarf wrapped around its neck. If this was not enough proof to make sure Alec knew this Devil was a big deal, the bear skin gaiter and the massive three-pronged head piece with eyes like a spider would certainly big enough. But the defining feature of this fallen was the skulls on his head piece, his shoulder pads, hanging from his belt, skulls everywhere. This is the Fallen House of Devils Archon Riksis, the Archon with the sick fascination with human skulls. He is a serious threat to the city and is high up on the House Devils hierarchy.

"Ech uh t'hana ab hu narhaba," Riksis bellows, pointing at Alec. "Gaar-diiii-annnn!" The fallen yells at Alec and aims his scorch cannon, firing. Alec rolls out of the way, keeping his eyes on the fallen. The huge Archon fires again, Alec leaps in the air and pivots to the side. Third trigger twitch, and it lands Alec straight in the chest. Alec flies and slams against the wall, landing on the floor. Shields depleted, and Alec painfully tries to get up. Riksis stares down the guardian, waiting for his move. Alec gets up and flashes Riksis an obscene gesture. The Archon tilts his head in confusion. Insult wasted. He aims his gun and fires at Riksis. The guy twitches, but otherwise, nothing really happens. Riksis fires yet again and Alec dives out of the way. Shields start going up. Alec throws a grenade at Riksis and it explodes in the Archon's face. Alec then throws his knife at the Archon, landing straight at the headpiece. After emptying the entire magazine, Alec takes a second to reload. But a scorch cannon shot lands at Alec's feet, sending him flying back.

Alec looks at Riksis, and sees that the headpiece looks more brittle than before. Perfect. Alec gets up and aims his gun at Riksis. A clicking sound fills the room. Alec did not reload before the shot was fired. One second too long was spent, and Riksis fired at the guardian, aiming for the chest. Alec dives out of the way and lose balance. But unfortunately, Riksis closed the gap in a few seconds and kicks at Alec. Alec goes a bit back and is picked up by the arm by Riksis and by the time he gets himself together, he is staring down Riksis's eight-eyed head piece and can feel the gun against his torso. With one free arm, Alec takes a knife and stabs at the center of the head piece. Riksis goes ballistic, letting go of Alec's arm and flailing. The guardian tears away the knife opening the piece, and revealing Riksis's mouth, speaking rapidly. Alec holds on to his gaiter and pulls a grenade, unpinning it and shoving it into Riksis's mouth.

Alec jumps away before Riksis explodes. When he looks back, Riksis's limp body with his soul flowing out of his gaiter and scarf. The rest of the facility goes silent and the motion detector turns white. The Devils were stunned and decided not to provoke him. "ETA thirty seconds," Hades says, sounding awed. "You just killed an Archon! This could seriously cripple the House of Devils. I need to get you to the Speaker." Alec looks around, at the fallen corpse. This moment could go down in history.

* * *

 **I have both the Destiny Art Book and Destiny Guide out for information right now. I have decided that this story will take a long time to finish. So, I will divide these Destiny stories into parts. Make since. Good see you tomorrow with Mass Effect, which I will get to immediately so I can get this information out of the way. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. See you soon!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	6. Act I: Chapter 6: The Vanguard

**Hey guys! So, who's psyched for Watch Dogs 2! And Mass Effect: Andromeda! Watch Dogs wasn't terrible. It was fun to play, it just suffered from a bad story. But Watch Dogs 2 looks better in literally every way! Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism, do not forget to leave a review. If you have an idea, PM me! That's all for now. Special thanks to Raptor010 for providing three characters, one of which will appear in this chapter: Titus-6. Read on!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

Chapter Six: The Vanguard

All fallen houses have a clear hierarchy. Barons serve the Archons, Archons serve as a preist and engineer for the Servitors, the Servitors provide ether so the fallen can live and the Kells make sure everything stays in working order. With Riksis dead, it will take months for the House of Devils to get a new Archon. As such, the Servitors won't get repaired, the fallen will never get ether, the Kell will lose his house to anarchy and the House of Devils will collapse from within. Alec just dealt a crippling blow to the fallen's grip on Earth. Which means both the city and the fallen will recognize Alec as an ally and a huge threat, respectively. Alec tried not to think about what he just did to himself as he walked through the North Tower, which acted like a giant shantytown. Guardians were buying items left and right, their boots sloshing at the light puddles on the floor. He entered the main tower, looking at a massive circular machine and a view of the golden sky with the Traveler standing, dormant. Silent. Below it was the city, still so alive. "There was a time when we were much more powerful," a voice says above Alec. "A time when potential was within our reach and the power of gods was ours to behold. We were unstoppable, constantly growing." A tall figure in a white robe appeared, wearing a strange white mask with a crevasse running down the center. His voice was light and gentle, yet bold and firm.

The Speaker.

"What happened?" Alec asks, looking at the tall figure.

"Apocalypse," The Speaker says, staring at the Traveler. "A great force that wiped out our armies and civilization to near extinction. Fallen, Hive, Vex, Cabal, each one appeared and tore us from our home. It was by the Traveler's saving grace that kept us safe, that kept our flame from being snuffed out. But it died, forcing the Darkness back. Now we fight against the forces that kept us from our homes for the longest time, with the Vanguard being the spearhead. But lately there has been a shift in power, a great anger the size of an intergalactic arm that is hungry for blood. Human blood. The Darkness is coming back. And without the Traveler to help us, we will not survive it this time."

"What do you want me to do?" Alec asks, suddenly sensing the urgency in the situation.

"What you were created to do," The Speaker says. "Fight. You killed Riksis and made the fallen fear for their lives. You have potential to do great things. So, I'm enlisting you in the Vanguard. You get the best gear and the best assignments. But Zavala, Ikora and Cayde expect your best in return. I called a leading Vanguard Lieutenant to come here today. And here she is now." Alec turns to find a woman in a red trench coat going down to her thighs, with small shoulder pieces, navy pants and black boots dragging up the calf. She had flowing black hair tucked into the coat with strands of brown hair running down the sides. She has a tan face with emerald green almond shaped eyes and an oval shaped face.

"You're the guy that killed Riksis," She says in a voice like butter. "Good job. I'm Chloe Truscher, Sunslinger Warlock. I'll be your CO in the Vanguard." She puts out her hand and Alec shakes it. She has a firm grip.

"Alec Fields," Alec says. "Gunslinger Hunter. It's a pleasure."

"Now that you know one another," The Speaker says. "I need to be off. Ensure the City that they are safe. Good day." The Speaker heads up the nearby stairs. Chloe pats Alec's shoulder and they walk out of the North Tower area.

"Ensure the City," Alec asked. "I though the House of Devils were crippled."

"They are," Chloe says. "But what does any animal do when cornered? The Devils are growing in aggressiveness, fighting for survival on the fields. And to add to that the House of Kings have their interests peaked. It's a matter of time before the Houses of Devils and Kings go to war. Or they begin to attack us where we hurt. Now the Vanguard is focusing on the House of Devils and continuing to take out the top leaders as quickly as possible instead of focusing on the Hive, which are our biggest threat right now. The Devils are on the same threat level as the Hive." Alec stops for a second, shocked. Did he really just make the situation worse for the City? "Relax, Alec. We'll be fine. Probably."

"Thanks for the emotional support," Alec sneers. "Go team." Chloe just looks back and stares. She turns around and throws something at Alec. The Hunter catches it and looks at it. A red card with a diamond with crossed swords in the center. It reads below _Crucible Pass: Fields, Alec. Gunslinger, Hunter._ "What's this?" Alec asks.

"Crucible Card," Chloe says, continuing to walk. "Let's you in the Crucible."

"And that is?"

"A sport where people fight each other with weapons and powers, no holds barred. It sounds bad, but it can help sharpen up combat. And it's really fun. Trust me."

"Nice context change. Thanks." Alec finds that they are walking to the Vanguard Hall. "Why are we going to see the Vanguard?" Chloe turns stopping. Her eyes are full of energy, alive and on fire.

"Commander Zavala has an assignment for us," Chloe says. "Our Fireteam is being sent. And you're the newest member. Welcome to the team." They walk through and find Zavala talking to an exo with a black chasis and two small horns. The eyes and inside of the mouth were colored blood red and he towered over Alec and Chloe. The machine wore a jumpsuit with a belt and small flag at his waist. The flag, or "mark" as Alec had read in the Grimoire, was a yellow falcon silhouette covering a white circle in a blue background. The exo turned to see Chloe and Alec and it nodded.

"Alec, Chloe," Zavala greets. "Alec, this is Titus-6. He served with Saint-14 and Cayde-6 back at Six Fronts and Twilight Gap. He's a damn good soldier and he's the captain of your Fireteam." Alec looked at the huge exo, Titus, in awe. As far back as the beginning of the City age. And he served in the Battle of Six Fronts, which was when the Fallen House of Devils attempted to invade the City, and Twilight Gap, when every Fallen House in the system tried to kill the City's inhabitants. He really must be good.

"Thanks for the introduction, Commander," Titus said, his gruff voice sending chills down Alec's spine. "What's our assignment?" Zavala turned and looked over all three of the soldiers.

"Alec here has killed Riksis, as we know," Zavala says, nodding at the hunter. "This means that the House of Devils is crippled and their supply of ether running low. As such, we're making our front lines expand as much as possible to keep the aggressive Devils back. Meanwhile, said Devils are struggling to produce ether without their Archon. But why halt the ether production process, when we can stop it entirely."

"You found a Prime Servitor!" Chloe says, grinning. Zavala nods.

"Sepiks Prime," Zavala says. "The majority of the Devils' ether comes from that servitor. And with it gone, the Devils will begin to die off."

"This doesn't change anything," Titus says. "The Fallen will still be a threat either way. They won't stop fighting." Zavala responds by shaking his head curtly.

"The Fallen will only continue to claw at our walls of our City unless we strike them down. Thankfully, we found the opportunity. We found the Devil's Lair and the Servitor inside it. You have to infiltrate their lair, destroy this machine god and send their souls screaming back to Hell. Hades, Onyx and Tiber will send you the coordinates of the lair. Dismissed."

"Right then," Chloe says, turning toward the group. "Let's kill a god."

* * *

 **Nothing to see here. Move on. WATCH DOGS 2!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	7. Act 1: Chapter 7: The Devils Lair

**I think this chapter will be interesting. I think so. You think so. I think so. So, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. Special thanks to Raptor010 for providing three out of six of the fireteam members in this story. And this story will be a long one trust me. I'm just waiting for this to be extremely long. So, read on.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

Chapter Seven: The Devil's Lair

Amanda Holliday managed to put in the drive for the ship overnight, right before the strike on the Lair. And Alec got all sorts of amazing gear. A new assault rifle that is budget but has pretty good recoil and magazine size, new black armor that is light on the joints rather than a jumpsuit, a vanguard cloak that goes down to the waist, new grenades and sharper knives. With little explanation, the team got in their jumpships and went under way. Alec was rather impressed with the ships. Chloe had a phaeton, which had a sleek grey color and an arrow head-like design. Titus-6's ship was an orange regulus, which had large engines on the wings and a spear headed cockpit. The ship looked old, but large and intimidating. "Alright, Alec," Chloe says through the radio. "Speed is key with these types of missions. We get in, complete our objective and get out before any real trouble comes our way."

"I know that feeling," Alec replies. "Can you say, archon?"

"I swear, being your ghost is going to get me killed." Hades says in a complete dead pan tone.

"We're approaching the mission area," Titus says. "Stay close, stay low and move quickly."

"I can handle myself, guys." Alec says, rolling his eyes.

"Can it," Chloe snarls for the first time. "We're more experienced than you. You follow our directions and stay out of trouble." The team descends from the clouds and drop down near the roof of a rocket yard with tons of rusted buildings and warehouses. The team is teleported to the nearest rooftop and they get low to the ground, looking over the area. Titus-6 is wearing a large chest plate with stomach armor, helmet with crest and open glass plate, leg armor, arm armor and gauntlets, all silver. His mark is hanging off his utility belt and is holding a pulse rifle and a shotgun is on his back. Chloe is wearing the same attire except with a belt on her waist and a red helmet on with a square glass and a spike from the forehead plate. She is holding scout rifle and has a shotgun on her waist. Besides the affinity for shotguns, Alec liked the gear on the team.

"Onyx, put in the co-ordinates," Titus says. "The Lair is past the refinery. They're sure to have strong defenses starting there. Save your light until you get to the refinery. Only use it when I say so. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir." Alec and Chloe say in chorus. The team drops down from the roof and charge past multiple buildings. As they charge past, Alec's motion sensor turns deep red behind him and fallen roars can be heard behind them. Alec swallows, nervous. Last time he heard stuff like that, he nearly died. Twice.

"Um, Titus?" Alec asks, his voice shaking. Behind him and Chloe the roars get closer and closer.

"Wait." Titus says simply. They continue to run until they reach a tight two way gap with a large device in the center and two bridging buildings in the center. Alec and Chloe run past the device as Titus turns, does a little jump, reaches out with both hands and raises a transparent bubble, flowing with purple void energy. Ward of Dawn. Titus looks back and yells "Get into cover! Now!" Chloe ducks behind the device a few feet away from Titus and Alec slams against a corner of the building away from Titus, who is taking all kinds of fire from a horde of Fallen Devils. "Grenades out!" Titus yells. Chloe throws an object and the front of the horde is faced with a massive explosion, and the pure yellow rays circle around each other, disintegrating any nearby fallen. Alec lets loose his grenade and on contact, a ton of orange diamonds burst out of the grenade and start homing in on any fallen that survived Chloe's monster of a grenade. Alec looks at the effects and says to himself, _I really like this gear_.

But what really took the cake was Titus' grenade: he leaped vertically out of the bubble, chucked the object and a bit away, about five explosions took place within distance of each other, creating a pop-corn effect of death in the large vicinity. Titus runs back behind the device and scatters for cover next to Alec. "Chloe, let it loose!" Titus yells. Chloe in response tucks her arms around her stomach and explodes in a light so bright Alec had to look away. When he looked back, she was slinging fire at the enemies nearby. Within seconds, everyone is dead and Chloe stands over them, triumphant. "Alright," Titus says, nodding in impression. "Let's move before they come back. This is what you're in for, Alec. Welcome to the big leagues." The team runs forward and Alec, still in awe, follows. They head inside a building with rusted rafters, dirt on the floor and bones scattered everywhere. The refinery. They approach a hall way which seems to be the only way out. Unfortunately, there is a large array of lasers blocking the path. Alec finds there to be a terminal in the middle of the floor, with encrypted code running through the screen. Fallen tech, as there are rounded corners and painted the color red.

"Now, we're in trouble," Titus says, looking around the room. "Devils are looking everywhere for us and the second we try to get past those lasers, they'll come running. Here's the plan: we all put our ghosts to work and they'll get the lasers out of the way. The very second the ghosts start decryption, we need to be in position. Alec, you're up top in that rafter," he points to a cat walk above them. "You snipe at anybody and everybody that comes through that door. Chloe, you're with me up front. We meet them head on and keep them from the terminal. We clear?" Alec and Chloe nods. Titus pulls out a ghost in a black shell and Chloe one in a red shell. Alec pulls out Hades. The three shove their ghosts forward and they shoot blue lasers at the terminal at different areas. Alec immediately jumps up to the rafter with his double jump using his light and Titus and Chloe take point up front.

"Everything is connected through a crazy firewall," Hades says through the radio. "And the firewall is encrypted."

"I'm tracing the data back to the source," Titus' ghost, Onyx says. "Found it. I placed a back door. Come on through."

"The Devils detected that," Chloe's ghost, Tiber says. "They're on their way in. Oh great, more encrypted code. This'll take a minute." At that, a ton of fallen flood through and Titus and Chloe charge forward shotguns blazing. Every time one of them was open, Alec would shoot at the fallen about to attack at their weak spot. And this would always happen in a process of seconds. Weak spot-fallen-shoot. Weak spot-fallen-shoot. Alec was pretty good at sniping, and was able to get tons of shots off.

"You're a great sniper, Alec!" Chloe says, spotting Alec shooting at a fallen in her blind spot.

"I'm blushing," Alec dead pans, shooting at a fallen on Titus's back. "Titus, watch your ten. Hades, what's happening?"

"We're all tracing separate lines of code back to the sources," Hades says. "There are several red herrings though. They're all connected to a-" an alarm goes off, deep and buzzing.

"What was that?" Titus says, turning back at the ghosts. A fallen tries to stab at him and Alec shoots at him.

"I tripped an alarm," Tiber says. "Another platoon of fallen are on their way."

"This horde is big enough," Chloe grunts, reloading her weapon as Alec shoots at a fallen on her twelve. "How long until that mesh is down?"

"It's half decrypted," Onyx says. "We need at least a few more minutes. Just hold on." Immediately after he says this another platoon of fallen enter the room. And through the scope, Alec sees a fallen with a spiked headpiece, a solar cannon, red armor and a red fur cloak. About the size of a captain, but with blood stains on the armor and skulls adorned. Alec read about this in the Grimoire. A fallen disguised as a captain, but has great combat capabilities. And very high above the rank of captain. A Devil Baron by the name of Naksis, the Deceiving.

"Guys," Alec says, staring through the scope. "Baron on site!" Alec snipes at Naksis' head and the shield disappears. Chloe appears behind the baron and fires the shotgun twice, killing the baron. _Well, that was easy_.

"Shields down," Hades yells. "You have a ten second period! Go!" Alec leaps down from the rafter and runs down the hall when he gets to the other side, he turns around and sees Titus right behind him and Chloe half way down the hall. _She's not going to make it_ , Alec thinks to himself. Titus skids at the end of the hall and Chloe is three-fourths of the way there. Two seconds left. Alec reaches out and grabs Chloe's arm, pulling her forward a second before the laser mesh could get her. Chloe pats Alec on the shoulder and the team looks back, the horde of fallen on the other side, yelling and screaming.

"They won't make it through?" Alec asks as Hades pops into existence next to him.

"Nope," Hades says, sounding prideful. "We replaced it with our own code and reinforced it with nine layers of encryption. They're not getting through any time soon." Titus nods in approval.

"The Devil's Lair is beyond here," Titus says. "Let's get moving." The team runs up a set of stairs and through a dark room before they emerge into a large courtyard covered in wreckage and at the other side is a large building with a red flag, holing the insignia of a dagger and rifles next to said dagger. The Devil's Lair. On the concrete platform, a ketch arrives and drops a machine on the platform. A spider-like tank, completely mechanical with six legs, a large head, torso and back with a red front and black back on the head and five orange "eyes" for lights. Also, it has a large turret on its torso with a large main cannon, a rocket cannon on the barrel and a chain gun below the head. "A Devil Walker." Titus says squinting as the spider tank turns toward the group.

"They really don't want us in there, do they?" Alec says looking at the massive tank. The tank aims for the group and a red laser aims for the center of the group with a deep buzz. Titus yells something, probably "move," but Alec couldn't hear it over the buzzing sound. Alec dives out of the way as do Chloe and Titus. And then there is a loud chamber roll, a bang and a massive explosion a few inches away from Alec's face, dropping his shields and delivering a grating burn to his chest plate. Alec gets up and looks at the tank and then the group. And then, a large platoon of Devils walks out the blast, with a majority of them heading into the center and some of them headed to the flanks.

"Alec, get up on that building and snipe from there," Titus says. "Chloe stay out in the center and keep its attention. Everyone aim for the legs and change when the shelling breaks away, change to another leg. A main battery will open from the neck, and when that explodes, so will the walker. Move!" Alec didn't need to be told twice. He ran forward toward a small building on a hill. Decrepit, rusted, but small enough to jump up on. He makes it up on the roof with ventilation ducts here and there and as Alec sees a position to snipe from, he sees two vandals and a captain crawling up the building in a spider-like fashion. Alec draws his assault rifle and sprays bullets into the vandal's faces. They die and fall to the floor, but the gun only drops the captain's shield. The rifle clicks and Alec takes the magazine out reaching for another on his belt. Right as he puts it in, the captain makes it on the roof and swings its swords horizontally. Alec instinctively petals back and trips over a duct. He falls on his back and sees the captain over him, ready to stab at him. Right in time, the hunter rolls to the side and evades the blades by an inch. Getting up, there is too little space to point the rifle. Only option is the knife. Alec pulls a combat knife, taking a fighting stance as the captain does something similar to a laugh.

"Aba dook tatta, reish anaba fo lyia!" The captain yells, coming forward with the blades. Alec dodges a swing by the captain and gets low to the floor, seeing an opportunity. He swipes at a joint in the leg, making the captain stumble for a bit. Alec then grabs the upper arm of the fallen, pushing it back so the insectoid would be off balance. And with a slight leap, Alec moves forward and stabs at the captain, killing it. He didn't even think doing it, it was all muscle memory. A kill blow. Alec takes position back at the edge of the building. Chloe is running around in the middle, moving from fallen to fallen, rocking the shotgun while the tank fires rockets at her, missing all the while. Meanwhile, Titus was deathly close to the tank, firing at the leg and dodging all chain gun fire with alarming speed. Alec takes point, aiming his rifle at the walker's legs. One out of the six legs with all ready striped from armor and smoking.

"Sorry I'm late," Alec says, firing two rounds into the second leg. "Pirate captain tried to steal my ship." Another six rounds and the leg disappears. Strong armor. Titus takes out another leg and Alec aims for another when he hears a deadly sound to him. _Click!_ Out of bullets. He reached for his belt and found he had no sniper rifle magazines left. He cannot use his sniper rifle anymore. And when things could not get worse, the walker realizes where the sniper shots were coming from and a red laser aims right at Alec's feet. Alec swears and dives forward off the building. _Click! Bang! Ka-Kraash!_ Searing fire scorches against Alec's back as he dives out of the way. He rolls to the ground and collects himself.

"Alec," Chloe yells. "Are you okay?" Alec looked over his shoulder to see his favorite red scarf was gone, burned to a crisp.

"They burned my scarf," Alec says, getting up. "They burned _my_ scarf! Okay, this tank is going to die. Chloe, I'm coming to help!" It all seemed so random and while Chloe was yelling at his stupidity, Alec thought this out through his head. The legends of Saint-14 seemed to cover killing the walker by targeting the legs. But an automatic glitch when taking too much damage occurs when a walker drops its head for maintenance, would detect enemies in the area and would continue overworking the engine. Keep attacking the legs, everything is chill. But Alec saw an alternative to Saint-14 and Titus' method: when the engine is down, that's when they need to hit hardest. Alec shoots down a dreg on Chloe's back and looks at her asking, "When can you use Radiance?" Alec throws a grenade past her head as Chloe fires a few shots past Alec's.

"In a few minutes," Chloe says. "Why?"

"I have a plan," Alec says. "When I say now, aim for the neck!" Alec cuts off her interjection by jumping over her and knifing a fallen in the face. Too much to handle out here, Titus has to hurry. Finally, steam emerges from and area outside of the head and the head drops, showing an alien engine, orange and steaming. Practically on fire. "NOW!" Alec yells. Chloe explodes in fire and leaps above the immobile walker. In mid-air, she throws multiple fire balls at the engine and said engine explodes. The head separates, the legs blast away and the body is engulfed in flames. The fallen happen to get scared and without a word, run off. No captain left to command them, and no one left to defend them. Alec grinned at their victory and Chloe and Titus walk toward him.

"Alec, you idiot," Chloe yells. "That plan was stupid and reckless! We were lucky that it worked! Do you know what would have happened if we failed! We should have just stuck to Titus' orders and stuck to the legs. Why don't you follow orders like you're s-"

"Good work." Titus says, staring at Chloe. Chloe shuts up and Titus calmly walks inside the lair. Without a word, the two follow him in. Inside, the place was dark and damp, accustomed with red flags and bones everywhere.

"So, this is the Devil's Lair." Hades says.

"Pretty spooky." Tiber says.

"You guys obviously haven't seen what happened with Crota." Onyx dead pans. The response warranted a dry laugh from Alec, who had a chill run down him spine. He laughed when he was nervous and Crota was a reason to be nervous. Lord of the Hive, Crota was the main enemy on the campaign on the Moon. The war turned into slaughter and thousands of guardians died by the blade of Crota alone. Eventually, the Moon was declared a lost cause after the death toll reached twenty thousand and the disastrous attempt on Crota's life led by ex-guardian Eris Morn. After, Crota and his disciples were hidden on the Moon. Silent, watching. A giant omen of death in the sky. Titus pushed a grand door open and inside was an outdoors area, with a pool of water a bit away and a colony ship towering above everyone. There were two platforms on each side and in the center was six dregs on their knees, receiving purple energy from a massive servitor that has spikes protruding from the body and an eye in the center, with a giant circular disk acting as the pupil and the purple light as the iris. Sepiks Prime, the Prime Servitor for the Fallen House of Devils.

The team killed the dregs quickly and reloaded. Sepiks hovered a bit in the air and ingested the purple ether. It then looked down at the little team of guardians, staring at them. Then a purple fire ball blasted out of its eye, causing the team to be blasted to the floor the second the team aimed guns, Sepiks was engulfed in purple energy and vanished. Alec got up quick and looked to his right, seeing Sepiks hovering above him. Short-range teleportation. Alec dives into cover as Sepiks fires another eye blast, which knocks out a third of his shields. Alec aims at the "eye" and Sepiks flinches, silently floating back a bit. He throws a grenade, but Sepiks teleports again. On the far side of the area, a skiff dropped off a platoon of fallen and they were ready to fight. And Titus and Chloe were trying their best to fend them off. Eventually, the fallen pegged them all into a corner and Sepiks was firing constant eye blasts at the group, daring them to peak their heads out.

Alec looked at the situation. It looked bad, but light was flowing through his veins. He was ready to do something drastic. On his thigh was a hand cannon. Three shots for the golden gun to use. Alec then pulls out his hand cannon and looks at both of them. "I can stagger them with the golden gun," Alec says. "Get a plan moving ASAP. We can't be here forever!" Titus immediately nods and Alec leaps out from cover. Channeling his light, he puts it all in his revolver and the gun explodes in flaming glory. Alec points the weapon at the platoon of fallen and shoots twice, killing the entire platoon in a massive explosion. He then points his gun up and at Sepiks. He fires and Sepiks flinches back, its shell cracked with purple energy flowing out and the eye on fire. Immediately, Titus runs onto the left platform and fires at Sepiks, getting its attention. Sepiks turns and fires, only to be met with Titus' Ward of Dawn. While Sepiks fires at him in confusion, Alec and Chloe shoot at Sepiks, throwing everything they have at him.

Eventually, Sepiks turns to meet with Alec and Chloe and at this point, it is a miracle that it is still alive. It turns its full attention toward the pair, and Titus takes the opportunity. He leaps and throws his fist straight at Sepiks' back. And immediately after, Sepiks completely explodes, bringing its flaming corpse down with it.

* * *

 **Seriously, I love you. All of you. I'll explain why I say this in Mass Effect Chapter 23.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	8. Act 1: Chapter 8: Down Time

**Hey guys! So, since there is nothing to say I'll get to it. I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. Have an idea, criticism or nitpick, leave a review. Special thanks to Raptor010 for donating three characters, one of which is Titus-6. Read on, good sirs!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER EIGHT: Down Time

Alec was laying on his couch, sharpening his knife. He had spent the last hour arranging newly acquired weapons and armor in his armory. The mesh shield network had all sorts of information, including engrams. From that he got a Suros Company Assault Rifle schematic, white and sleek. He also got a new gun called a Fusion Rifle, a Nox Umber I. According to the Grimoire, Fusion Rifles are exactly that: a generator that creates nuclear fusion discharge and launches it at the required object. He also got new armor, specifically a green chest piece with an Aspect of Blood, three arrows in succession with a fabric on the stomach. The new helmet had a diamond shaped mouth cover and a slit to see out of, heavily armored. The new arms had mainly fabric with gauntlets and a shoulder pad, and oxygen tank connecting from the shoulder to the back of the chest piece. And the legs are just that, legs. Fabric mainly with metal boots and armor on the thigh. His scarf was burned to a crisp by the Fallen Walker from the strike, but in return he got a cloak that ran down to his lower back, green with white trims. As he sharpened his knife, Chloe walked in. She was wearing simply a red trench coat and black everything else. Girl must love her coats.

"You don't take orders well, do you?" Chloe asks, standing over him.

Alec laughs, putting his knife in its scabbard. "Nope," He says. "But if it works…" Chloe rolls her eyes and sits down on the other side of the couch, crossing her legs.

"What all did you get from the strike?" Chloe asks. Alec gets out his device and starts scrolling through data.

"Weapons, armor, a new cloak and a little bit more," Alec says. "Turns out the Fallen found music dating back to the Golden Age. _Arctic Monkeys_. Odd name, but pretty good. Who knew the Fallen have good taste in music?" Alec plays a song labeled _Do I Wanna Know_ and listens to the complete bliss. The bass drum smashing at a nice beat and then the bass guitar playing a nice little tune in the background before a British voice begins singing. Amazing. Alec places it on the floor and puts his hands behind his head. "So, how did the debriefing go?" He asks.

"Well," Chloe says. "Zavala rewarded us all with twenty hundred glimmer. But being the nihilist he is, he ultimately said 'new threats will arise to destroy the City and we have to be ready when they do.'" Chloe's impression of Zavala was surprisingly accurate. "Ikora says that her team of Hidden are analyzing the servitor as we speak, looking for a weakness. And Cayde, well, Cayde gave us a thumbs up. You know, Titus likes you. He says you think brilliantly and found solutions to problems neither he nor Saint-14 could find. Believes you have potential to be a leader."

"And you?" Alec asks, grinning at the question. Chloe rolls her eyes.

"You're a pain," Chloe says. "But you think like a warlock and hit like a titan. Not to mention move like a hunter. You're good on the field."

"Shucks," Alec says, rolling his eyes. "So, what's our next assignment?"

"Nothing," Chloe says. "Vanguard are sending in guardians to clear out the weakened Devils from the Mothyards and from there, we start setting up checkpoints. We have free time. And considering what you especially have been through, you could use it." Chloe grinned and Alec sat up.

"Are you sure?" Alec asked. Chloe smiled, as to apparently show appreciation for Alec's drive to work.

"You killed and Riksis and helped us take down Sepiks," Chloe replies. "So, yes. We'll try not to overwork your precious little head." Alec rolled his eyes. The music stopped.

"Okay," Alec says. "What are we doing? Hitting a bar? Hanging around? Gliding through orbit?" Chloe had a smirk on her face.

"You get to see what the Crucible is like, guardian."

* * *

 **Okay, everything so far has been pretty laid back. Can't blame me. Not only am I tired, I have to leave in about a week. So, I'm prepping up.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	9. Act 1: Chapter 9: The Crucible

**Hey guys! Sorry for this being sooo late, but I had band. And band camp sucks. It's amazing, but it sucks. I don't own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have an idea, criticism or nitpick, leave a review. I strive to be better than I am now. Special thanks to Raptor010 for providing three characters, one of which being Titus-6. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER NINE: The Crucible

Alec found out quickly that the Crucible is simultaneously a game, a training session and a game show. Grimoire reads that after the Battle of Twilight Gap, Lord Shaxx decided to run the Crucible to train a new age of guardians and ensure the City that humanity is in safe hands. They started in a satellite above Earth's orbit to run through how the game works. No holds barred, murder is allowed, and when a guardian is killed, the ghosts are on lock for five seconds before they can revive again. Alec, Chloe and Titus only met with their own team to socialize and strategize before they had to head into a transmat room with a holographic feed. The feed starts off with the crucible symbol, a diamond with swords crossed in front of said diamond. Then the feed cuts to Shaxx who begins narrating: "Twilight Gap served as not only a battle ground, but as the place humanity made their stand. The place where the fallen discovered we are alive and we will not allow our future to be stripped from us. Many a guardian fell that fateful day, and in honor of them, the Gjallarhorn was made from their armor and was a testament to their sacrifice. And this is where tonight's Crucible will take place.

"The game is control! Flags placed in three areas throughout the ground and you must hold these flags to your team! Each kill and revive will count as one hundred points and each flag capture, take down and change will count as three hundred! Alpha Team is as follows! Returning is Titus-6, who fought in Six Fronts and Twilight Gap with me, Saladin and Saint-14 and Chloe Truscher, who is as fearless as she is wise! Making their debut is Alec Fields, already well known for killing the Devil Archon Riksis and Devil Prime Servitor Sepiks Prime!" Titus did get the kill on Sepiks, but he didn't seem humble about it. Not knowing what to do, Alec stayed quiet. Shaxx introduced another titan, warlock and hunter before moving on to the mysterious other team.

"And we have Bravo Team! Making her return is Artemis Dawn, the Thunderfist, well known for her track record in our Crucible!" Chloe shuddered and Titus squinted his robotic eyes. Artemis seemed to have a large track record and seemed intimidating enough to fit the title. Medium size chest piece, small shoulder pads and leg armor and a wing jutting out from her left shoulder. Her neck had a wolf-like fur coat and the fabric of her stomach was visible. She is tall, standing up straight, giving a presence of superiority. On her back was an assault rifle, fusion rifle and what looked like an assault rifle, but bigger and with a drum barrel. A machine gun, beige in color with worn camouflage. Artemis's posse seemed intimidating too, a hunter and warlock, each similarly dressed to Artemis. "Begin!" Shaxx yells, and the teams are teleported. Alec finds himself on a rocky Cliffside, off in the distance is the City and the Traveler and in front of them is a facility, rusted with cannons jutting from the side.

"Follow me." Titus says simply, they charge through a door and into a large, square room with the first battery in front. In the center of the room is a few large boxes in the center with a tall flag pole, with a grey flag attached. Titus sends his ghost out and the ghost changes the flag from grey to blue. The hud in Alec's helmet reads a diamond that reads "A" in blue, a diamond reading "B" in grey and a diamond reading "C" in red. Artemis's team captured their flag. Titus turns around and speaks, "This is going to be difficult. Here's the plan, Chloe and I go for B flag. You three stay on the side lines. We need someone on the catwalks. Alec, you're a sharpshooter. Go back to where we started, climb a rocky fixture on the side and walk the catwalks until you see B flag."

"Okay," Alec says. "I can do that." Alec runs back to where he started and looks around and climbs the rocks up to a hole in the side of the building far up. He climbs through the hole onto a rusted catwalk and runs straight down it until he sees a figure in the distance. The figure raises a rifle and fires. Alec slides, dodging the hail of fire, three at a time. He gets up and sees a holed position in the side. Pivoting, he takes cover and slams his back against the wall. Someone beat him to the punch. The position he's in leads out into a perch overlooking the B flag. And waiting there is the entire opposing team, and they didn't take the flag. They appear to have rocket launchers out, except for Artemis. "Titus, it's Alec," Alec says to the radio. "Bravo is already at B flag. They've prepared an ambush. I'm stuck."

"Copy, Alec," Chloe says. "Titus, you go for B Flag. I'll capture C. You, come with me." Alec peeks out of cover and pulls his fusion rifle. Pivoting again, he aims for the chest and the strike at the armor makes the titan stumble. Alec pulls his throwing knife and throws it at the titan's face, killing him. Continuing to run, Alec finally stumbles to a clear view of the other team, locked in combat with Titus and two others. Making his way above the other team, Alec pulls his rifle and begins to shoot at some of the opposing team. Two of five die and all that's left are Artemis and her posse. "Capturing." Chloe says. Alec notices that the C diamond changed from red to grey and stays stagnant. Chloe is barely holding out against three of them and they're having trouble. Artemis apparently notice and pats her posse on the shoulders. From there, they begin running away, through the combat zone.

"No," Titus yells. "Chloe, you have to get out of there! Artemis is on her way!"

"I can't," Chloe yells. "My partner died and I'm holding them out from moving for the A flag! They have me pinned, I can't…aghh!" A swarm of fire goes off in the background and Chloe begins swearing non-stop until there is static. Chloe just died.

"Chloe," Alec yells. "Chloe! No!" Alec watches as the C diamond changes from grey back to red. Alec leaps down from the catwalk and meets up with Titus and the other two guardians.

"They're moving for the A flag," Titus says. "Chloe and I will rendezvous in front of the hall leading there and hold them off as long as we can. Alec, you stay here with these two and keep B Flag in case anyone comes running. Make me proud." Titus runs off and Alec summons Hades, making B flag theirs. After a few minutes, Titus radios back. "Only three are moving for us, the less experienced ones. Alec watch out." Alec turns around, expecting Artemis and her posse to come barging. Instead, Artemis's form radiated up above from the catwalks, sparking with Arc Energy. Knowing what comes next, Alec rolls behind and stands aiming his rifle. Artemis hit the ground with a shockwave of arc energy, killing Alec's back up. Artemis's two friends take her sides and aim at Alec.

"Go help the others," Artemis's stern voice says. "I've got this." Her friends run off and Alec and Artemis stand there, aiming their rifles at one another.

"Titus," Alec whispers. "My back up is dead and Artemis's friends are moving to support the siege. It's just me and her now." No response. Artemis laughs. The voice was confusing. It was stern, yet gentle, seductive. Like she was staring down a toy for her to play with.

"So, you killed an Archon," Artemis says. "Impressive. This should be fun."

"I'd rather not," Alec says. "Last person who wanted to tango was Sepiks Prime. He's dead now." Artemis laughs again. She stands up straight and puts her rifle on her back.

"I don't need a gun to take you down." In response, Alec drops his gun.

"Out of ammo anyways." Alec pulls his knife and Artemis flicks her wrist, and a pole collapses out of her hand. A baton. Alec positions himself in front of the flag and waits, Artemis charging forward. First two swings are quick and wide, but Alec backpedals to avoid the hits. Artemis has no defenses open, meaning Alec can't hit at all. A different strategy would be needed. On the third, Alec catches the baton on his gauntlet, and closes the already intimate distance. He punches at Artemis's helmet with the knife, barely cracking it and shifting the gauntlet to the baton. Yanking it from Artemis, he swings as hard as he can twice, sending Artemis back. He sees that her helm is glossy, on the verge of cracking. He then takes the ends of the baton and snaps it in half. "That's what you get for bringing a stick to a knife fight." Alec says, snidely. Taunting leads to anger, anger leads to rushed actions and rushed actions lead to mistakes.

Artemis charges forward, ready to strike. The punches are faster, more limited. Alec dodges them as best as he can, looking for any opening possible. He ended up getting punched in the face, cracking his visor. Alec reaches out with his knife, Artemis grabbing it and forcing him to the ground. Alec reaches for another knife on his thigh and stabs it at Artemis's arm. Forcing the arm aside as Artemis grunts in pain, Alec rises and head butts Artemis, hearing the stress of the visor. Alec then follows it with placing his hands on her neck, slamming her head with his knee and stabbing at her visor upward. Alec then leaps and roundhouses Artemis in the face, hearing a brutal crack as Artemis staggers back. Her visor has a massive crack across the helm. "Oh," Alec yelled, in anticipation. "I felt that one!" Artemis lets out an angry grunt and charges back in. Her punches even more brutal and coming in even more close than usual. Alec blocks a flurry of punches best he can, not noticing Artemis's feet closing in and sweeping his feet from under him. Immediately afterward, Alec's leg is grabbed with a vice grip and is thrown over Artemis's head and onto the rough concrete. Alec does a roll back and gets to his feet, out of breath.

Artemis is acting even more brutal than before, and starts charging right for Alec. One punch is thrown by Artemis, which is grabbed by Alec, shoves her shoulders apart and closes the distance, sweeping away Artemis's feet. Alec gets his knife out as Artemis catches herself on her hands and throws herself onto her feet. Punch thrown, deflected, stab at visor, crack. Kick, dodge, stab at visor, crack. Punch, duck, visor, crack. Uppercut, parry, roundhouse kick, crack. Artemis is staggered and Alec tries to tackle her, grabbing her torso and charging. Artemis punches him in the back, making him stop and run past Artemis. Artemis grabs Alec's cloak and swings him around, flinging him into an iron pillar. Way brutal. Careful tactics aren't working anymore. Alec looks up and sees Artemis charging, surging with arc energy. Alec gets up and jumps away, avoiding the incoming electric shockwave. Artemis charges again, leading Alec to jab out. Artemis parries, grabs Alec's arm and swings him into another iron pillar, which cracks Alec's visor and bounds him to the ground.

Alec tries to move. Jaw broken, ribs broken. He simply cannot move. Artemis stands over him, saying "You can't beat me, hon," Artemis says. "I'm objectively better." Artemis turns and walks for the flag. At this moment, Alec hears everything with alarming detail.

"We're doing it! We're pushing them back!"

"It's not working! They're still ahead by one hundred. We need kills!"

"They're not escaping cover! We're pinned, we can't get their flag!"

"C'mon, Alec. Hold out." If Artemis gets the flag, it's over.

Without thinking, Alec gets up and sprints straight for Artemis. He shoves her aside, distracting her long enough for him to land a punch to the visor, cracking it further. Artemis shoves the next punch from Alec aside and punches him, shattering his visor and shoving him away to the flag. Panicking, Alec reaches behind him for the flag and swings it around hitting Artemis and sending her flying into an iron bar, denting it and shattering the helm's visor. Alec can't see anything, so he takes off the helmet and stands up, looking at his opponent. The helm cracked, Alec sees Artemis's purple awoken eyes, ablaze with anger. She charges, as does Alec. Alec opens with a kick to the knee and punches at Artemis's open visor, proceeding to reach under Artemis's chest plate and leaps back.

"What," Artemis sneers. "Scared?"

"Nope," Alec replies. "I'm bursting with energy. And you're literally bursting." Alec placed a grenade under Artemis's chest plate. Said grenade explodes and Artemis dies, quickly and loudly. Alec, exhausted, drops to the ground and takes a sigh of relief.

"Match over," Shaxx's voice says. "Alpha Team wins!" Alec, shocked, looks at the view on his shattered gauntlet.

Alpha: 20, 4600

Bravo: 20, 4500

Alpha has two out of three flags. They won. Alec laughs and immediately regrets it. 'Ow ow ow, my ribs.'

* * *

 **So, that happened. I swear you'll see more out of me.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**


	10. Act 1: Chapter 10: Tension

**LABOR DAY, LABOR DAY, LABOR DAY! School and band is awesome but it leaves me no room to update these. Plus, I caught a cold! Boo! So, I'll just take my time with this weekend. So, this chapter will be basically filler. I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you like this or see a detail that is incorrect, please leave me a review. I hope you enjoy this story!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

Chapter Ten: Tension

Chloe and Titus were so impressed with Alec taking down Artemis that they had to go celebrate. "I know this place in the social district," Chloe says in the satellite after the game. "It's called Nerve Line. It has the best drinks. We should go there to celebrate." The ghost Tiber made a motion like nodding. Alec accepted and looked back to see Artemis. Her helmet was on, glaring at Alec. She was intimidating still. Her tall six foot three stature, only beaten by Alec's six foot five and Titus' eight foot. She stood with a big posture, like she owned the place. She looked at him, and after three seconds walked away. He thought nothing of it and the trio continued to Nerve Line.

Alec never liked clubs, bars or pubs. Nerve Line was something entirely different. The dance floor was open with a large space dedicated to it. Around the corners were the more obvious things. In the back was a bar, the left and right had tables and above everyone was a DJ playing songs of dub-step and pop. The lighting was dim except for searchlights hovering over the dense crowd on the dance floor. Human and awoken women were packing the floor while the men were sitting and drinking. A few tables away there were two guardians in a table for six, a failed fireteam mission. Alec heard them toast to "our fallen comrades sleeping in the Vault". Alec, Chloe and Titus sat at the bar as a frame appeared, asking in the usual monotone voice "What drink would you like, guardians?"

Chloe answered scotch and Alec answers whiskey. The frame pours them glasses and Chloe turns to Alec saying "To your victory against Artemis Dawn!" They clash their glasses together and drink it, downing the alcohol. "Alec, you are an annoying SOB. But you certainly are talented, I can assure you that." Alec laughs.

"I could say the same thing about you, Chloe," Alec says. "About the annoying SOB part anyway." Chloe punches him in the arm. "Hey now! Your warlock is showing." Titus smirks as Chloe continues to drink. Alec smiles while sipping at his whiskey. Chloe started off to him as an annoying, know-it-all. This he goes on a mission and spends time with his new fireteam and so much more is revealed. The compassion, awe and shyness that is Chloe Truscher. And the only words he could use to describe Titus are awesome, cool, superior. He has never known a man, or in this case robot, with the strength, durability and quiet demeanor like Titus. He's only been alive for a while, but he's really felt like he's found people he can trust. He turns around and looks at the dance floor. He puts his drink on the counter and stands up. Chloe immediately gets suspicious.

"Where are you going," She asks. "Since when are you a social butterfly?" Titus smirks at the two, rolling his eyes.

"Getting a bit restless," Alec says. "Need to walk for a second." He needs to keep his mind busy and his body moving. Otherwise, he gets bored and fidgety. He walks over to the dance floor and begins dancing. Mediocre at best, but okay. He dances to the upbeat music, twisting his legs and hips vibrantly in cohesion with his arms. As he dances, an attractive awoken approaches him. Tall, about two inches shorter than Alec, with an energy emitting an emotion like she stomps around acting like she owns the entire system. She has a purple t-shirt on covered by a leather jacket with a fur lining. She sports black leggings and combat boots, radiating a sense of rebellious nature. She has a pale purple skin, with violet eyes ablaze with energy. Her hair is shoulder length and spikey, in a shade of light pink. Every eye turned and Alec got a knot in his stomach. He knew exactly who this was.

"It's a pleasure you see you again," She says, tilting her head at the now still Alec. "You really held your own in that match. What's your name?" Alec starts thinking a mile a minute. Artemis is confronting him in the middle of the dance floor at everyone's attention. She doesn't appear to have a posse with her at the moment. Alec extends his hand for a hand shake.

"Alec Fields," He says, shaking her hand. "You're Artemis Dawn?" Artemis looks at Alec with a strange expression on her face. Flirty, but like she found a challenge. What that challenge would be, Alec didn't want to know.

"Artemis is just my field name," She says. "I'm Alisha Dawn. And I saw you were running with Titus-6? What's he like?"

"He's a good friend," Alec says, not knowing how to think of her. "Holds the team together. Hey, no hard feelings about…killing you?" Artemis, or Alisha, giggles with a laugh that Alec swore could kill an archon.

"Of course not," Alisha said. More slow music, in the form of a tango, appears and Alisha holds a hand out. "Want to dance?" Alec's brain explodes. What does Alisha want from him? He is a fairly good dancer, but he doesn't know how to respond. Ultimately, Alec takes Alisha's hand.

"Ugh…yeah," Alec says, pulling her close as the music starts up. "Sure." Alisha laughs as the music picks up. Tango, Alec leading, traditional style. They take their hands out and Alec puts his hand on her waist, as Alisha's hand goes on his shoulder. They step forward and back at a brisk rhythm, swaying from side to side as they go. As music changes in styles, Alec begins to throw moves on the fly. Brisk paces and Alec lifts Alisha and puts her down after spinning. After a bit more, Alec twirls Alisha and vice versa. The music slows and right at the climax, they pose at interlocked legs with Alisha's leg up. Alec found out loud and clear what Alisha was trying to do at this point. Music picks up, twirls. Ends with a dip.

"Wow," Alisha says. "You're really good. You dabble in dancing?"

"Yeah," Alec says, shrugging his shoulders. "Salsa, rumba, waltz, swing, polka. Erm, little bit of cha cha. Flamenco? Well, little rusty on flamenco." Alisha begins to laugh hard. "What? Flamenco is really complicated!" A little bit away, Alec sees Chloe stare at him with drink in hand. She looks at him with a straight lined mouth and an arched eyebrow, as if to say "Really? Did you just do that?". She turns and talks to Titus after realizing Alec caught the face she was making at him. 'women.' Alec thought. The two sit down and begin drinking and talking.

"So, Art…" Alec begins.

"Alisha." The crucible warrior interrupts.

"Yeah," Alec replies. "You seem to be really prominent in Crucible. But you're not associated with Vanguard."

"I used to be. While back, I lost my old fireteam on a raid to a Siege Dancer Cabal position. Six went in, I finished the job alone. After, I chose Crucible. People don't die as horrifically as they can on the field. And when they do, they always come back."

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"No. No, I'm not. It was my third year as leader and we were top for the raids. Then we were supposed to get to the center of a cabal stronghold in the Buried City so Vanguard fleet could bombard the area from orbit. Things started off well, then we were trapped. One good soldier got gunned down in a Darkness Zone. Another one crushed. Another gutted. The last two getting me to the center and out of the stronghold. On the field, they're so organized and tactical and smart. But in their own territory, they're beasts. Barbaric. I still have nightmares about them. Not the fallen, or the hive. The damned cabal."

"What did you do after the raid?"

"I quit. Retired myself from the Vanguard and stayed in the Crucible for God knows how long. I think its been a decade. Maybe longer. Then I hear of a new guy who kills an archon. Then Sepiks Prime. Then me. You're a talented guardian."

"Thanks. The crucible is fun, but field work is just…fitting for me, y'know?"

"I get it. What's your story? Before you were a guardian?"

"Hard to remember, really. I had a wife, a child. I lived as an honorable guy. Then the Darkness came and…poof. I joined a campaign as a sniper. I was on Russia and then…"

"You died. Explains that scar on your eye." Alec looks at himself in the mirror. Right there was a scar running down his left eye. How had he not noticed it before?

"Huh. What about you?"

"Soldier to the core. Fought while I was in Freehold against those animals. Never settled down, never stopped fighting, just kept going. I loved field work like you do now. Then, it came down to a group of Flayers and I died at the top. When I was revived, I nearly escaped with my life. Kept on with that life style for five years. Became a Vanguard for six. Led my team for three. Then, Crucible. I lost all will to fight that day. I just couldn't fight anymore after it."

"I know the feeling." Alec definitely knew the feeling. He couldn't tell from where, but he knew it.

"You are a soldier to the core. True soldier, patriot. You can do about anything after a tragedy. I can tell. I could never figure out how to stay with it like you. Most would have run away from the archon. How do you do it?"

"I think of what matters to me most. My friends, my family…or my friends that are now family. Think about it like this. This war isn't about survival, or banishment. It's about humanity coming together to defend our home. And if we made it this far, we can make it farther. And I have faith that we can win because of that." Alisha reaches out and grabs Alec's hand, making really flirty expressions.

"You have such strong morals. I'm glad you can think so optimistically. Hopefully, we can spend some more time in a more… intimate setting." Alec removed his hand. Under every other circumstance, he would have said yes. But he mentally prepared himself since the tango.

"No. Let's keep things professional." Alisha looks at her glass with a strange expression on her face.

"Okay. That's fine. I'll see you later then." Alisha gets up and walks away. Alec laid back, taking a deep breath. It was strange. There were many things that kept him from saying yes. His morals and barriers, yes. But the most prominent was Chloe. Why Chloe? Alec sipped his whiskey. The tension was so intense. And speak of the devil, Chloe walked over and sat down across from Alec. She turned back with suspicious eyes and then looked at Alec with a sense of suspicion.

"Was that Artemis?" Chloe asks. Alec nods putting down his now empty drink.

"Mmm hmm," Alec returned. "She tried to seduce me. Didn't work." Chloe scoffed.

"I'm surprised," Chloe says, picking up Alisha's unfinished drink. "Usually no one can resist her." She sips her drink and then gags. "God, she has horrible taste in drinks." Alec laughs, then looks down at his empty drink glass.

"How long have you been a guardian?" Alec asks. Chloe lays back, her eyes going into the upper corners, thinking.

"About fifteen years now," Chloe answers. "I started as another warlock fighting against the crowd in Europe. After nine years of that, the Vanguard noticed my potential. I put in a fireteam with Titus to help raid the King's position in Old Belfast. We detonated a nuclear reactor that reduced the King's Watch to ashes and sent the kell into hiding. It was a complete success."

"How long has Titus been around?"

"Almost longer that all of us," Chloe says, leaning back. "He's one of the original exo and has been around for the longest time in service. About eighty years, I'd say. Helped build the walls, fought in Six Fronts, Twilight Gap, the Moon Campaign. After that last one he was one of those exo that helped fight everywhere. Doesn't talk about his past much, but what I know is that he drove the Kings out of Belfast, the Devils out of Sydney and annihilated the House of Exile presence on Earth. He's done twenty raids over the years." Alec whistled.

"Have you ever experienced loss?" Chloe suddenly became fixated on the empty glass.

"A lot of the raids Titus lead weren't always a full success. I was involved in some of them. Soldiers fell, we mourn, we get back up. But it doesn't make it any easier. I can only wonder how Titus deals with it. Probably still carries the scars all the way back to Twilight Ga…"

Not Titus," Alec asks. "You?" Chloe's eyes well with tears, which she quickly wipes away.

"Yes. I've led three raids. All of them failed. Horribly. It was all on the damned Vault."

"The Vault of Glass?"

"Yeah."

Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Alec reaches over and takes Chloe's shoulder. They get up and leave. Nerve Line was for celebration. Thank goodness the Vanguard has an objective for the morning.

* * *

 **I HAD TO RESEARCH TANGO SO NOW I KNOW HOW TO TANGO. YOU'RE WELCOME!**


	11. Act 1: Chapter 11: The Dark Within

**Just to be completely clear, we are absolutely still in the Fallen Act. It just so happens that the villains in this chapter are the Hive. To progress the story. Sound good? High five? Good. 'High fives reader'. I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a comment or critique, please leave a review. Enjoy this chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

Act I: Fallen

CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Dark Within

Alec, Chloe and Titus ride their ships above the clouds, beginning a brief on the mission ahead. "Mission brief," Titus begins. "After our esteemed hunter killed Riksis, the Vanguard began a hostile takeover of the areas beyond the Steppes, namely the Mothyards and Forgotten Shore."

"You flatter me," Alec responds. "What did they find?"

"Fallen everywhere," Chloe responds. "Primarily scavenging for parts."

"Recently, we've been getting reports of movement in the old Skywatch, Lunar Complex," Titus responds. "Massive amounts of movement. And it hasn't been disturbed prior to our takeover. Which means, we disturbed it. It's our job to find the disturbance and take it down if necessary. We'll touch down in the Steppes as to not attract attention to ourselves" The ships dip down below the clouds and head down into the Steppes, transmatting them to the surface. Alec looks up to see the three ships pass by and dip above the clouds. The orange-dipped sunset sky sets the mod for the mission, and makes it quite beautiful as a light snowfall hits the dirt. The team begins moving, quickly moving into the Mothyards. The rocky, carved slopes of mountain in the distance with a field of crashed airplanes with a foreboding screeching sound of Fallen Devils. And off in the distance is a large rectangular building sitting atop a small mountain, with a satellite sticking out of the top.

"That's the Skywatch." Alec said, in disappointing shock. He remembered during the Golden Age when the Skywatch of Russia was in charge of the biggest missions. Settling Mars, charting maps, they even created a few warminds, which have apparently been all but lost. Just the thought of those things gave Alec shivers, the computers in charge of Earth's doomsday weapons, which are about as effective as they sound. Unfortunately, the Darkness severed the connection between the warminds and the weapons. Titus grasped Alec's shoulder, as if knowing what Alec thought. Alec appreciated the gesture, but found it hard to be endearing when there was a massive shotgun in his hand. They continued moving, crossing the plains at a brisk pace with barely any Fallen presence. From the sounds of gunfire across the canyon a little bit away, Alec came to the conclusion the Vanguard were hard at work against the Devil bulk while they are on the op. They continued up the dirt path and across the mountain top where they were about to enter the Skywatch. Out of nowhere, a team of Fallen Devils appear.

"Devils!" Alec shouts. One Captain and four Vandals, and they screech at the sound of Alec's voice. The trio take cover as the Vandals open fire. Alec and Chloe pop out of cover, firing at them. They successfully down two Vandals and Chloe throws her grenade, killing the other two. Titus leaps from his cover and charges to the captain. Alec runs forward, throwing a knife at the Fallen. Its shields are lowered a fourth, enough to rip attention from Titus to Alec. Alec jumps to the side, avoiding fire while firing back supported by Chloe, effectively removing both Alec and the captain's shield. Titus moves in and punches the captain in the back of the head, knocking it down and finishing it off with the shotgun.

"Vanguard, this is Titus-6 from Skywatch Op," Titus calls into the radio. "Fallen House of Devils presence confirmed. Armed and dangerous. We'll update you on our position as we move deeper. Over." The team takes the opportunity to reload as Cayde responds back.

"Skywatch Op, this is Vanguard Cayde-6. Your position is notified and will be kept in note for future patrols. You're clear to go. Over." Titus nods and leads the way into the building. Dark narrow passageways and buildings await them, with damp walls and puddles, muddy floors too. But there appears to be no Fallen to be had. Eventually they find a stair case and head down a level, revealing a dark room with a closed shutter door. Alec has Hades scan the terminal at the door while Titus updates the Vanguard.

"Skywatch to Vanguard, there has been no other presence of the Devils," Titus says. "We're continuing to move. Over."

"Titus, I advise you watch your back," Cayde responds. "The area beyond is off of our charts, no signal. Possible Darkness Zone. Watch your back." Titus readies his shotgun as the door opens and they see nothing. Absolutely nothing. At least in this room you could see certain things, but it certainly isn't bright. It's just pitch black on the other side.

"Onyx, light this up." Titus commands. His black shell ghost appears and shines its flashlight into the room. Aside from the black wispy gas floating around the room, what immediately stood out is a black, papier-mache like nesting on the ground, walls and ceilings. Ornamented with green crystals, that did not make the room any brighter. "Oh God no." Titus says, walking in. Alec and Chloe follow. Alec was horrified to find that the entire hallway was filled with this stuff. "It's a nest!" Titus says, looking around. "Onyx, transmat me some explosives. This place needs to be scorched. The Hive are on Earth."

"The Hive," Chloe asks, like she's about to throw up in her helmet. "Is that possible? They've been completely silent since the Moon. Why are they on Earth?"

"Good question, but that doesn't matter," Titus says. "They need to die." Alec detected venom in his voice. He couldn't guess where it was coming from. Assuming it had to do with him being there for the campaign on the Moon, ending in disaster. Alec kept a calm head, thinking to himself. Titus is right. If the Hive is here, they cannot be allowed to live.

"You've fought these things longer than we have," Alec says, gesturing at the nests. "What's procedure?" Titus looked at him with a grin.

"I like the way you think, Alec," Titus says. "If there's a nest here, then there's a mother who spawned it. A Wizard. We need to find the area where the movement is coming from and kill the Wizard assigned to this colony. Along with the entire colony, of course." Titus pumped his shotgun, a shell landing on the ground. "The colony should be up ahead. Keep quiet. Be careful. Stay behind me and when they see us, scatter." Titus raises his shotgun and the trio head up the hall and up some metal stairs. They reach an office, dim black all around. And then they hear a wicked screeching, followed by the appearance of three triangle positioned emerald eyes. Then six. Then twelve. Then forty-eight. Then, sixteen thin, skeletal creatures with the three eyes charge at them, their three fingered hands charging with electricity. They have a black and white hue to them, screaming at the top of their lungs while charging in a cluster straight for the trio.

"Thralls," Titus yells. "Scatter!" Alec didn't have to be told twice. He dived straight out of the way and watched as Titus pumped lead into the Thrall. About eight of them were down when, they leaped at the exo, slashing at him with their claws. Titus winced, shields dropping and dropping his gun. The Thralls leap on him like a pile game.

"Titus!" Chloe yells. She and Alec raise their guns and begin to shoot at the Thralls. Their ghosts illuminate the scene around them while Hive chatter and screeching begin to sound.

"Allak'hul nabba chu lar ak nu'rabba!"

"Crota snich'eg def'lau hanche duestch!" Quickly, the Thrall whittle down to three. Then, an object hits Alec's armor in the arm hard. He screams and dips into cover, checking the wound. A purple line, steaming. He peers his head to see three skeletal, yet thicker looking creatures with the same three eyes and priest-like rags. They hold weapons that fire a silver-purple substance that clank as they hit cover. Blades? Alec looks to see Chloe under fire as well and Titus crush the last Thall's skull as the creature disassembles into rock and dust. The exo gets up and charges at them, firing at the center Hive. The center Hive is killed and the other two turn to target the new threat.

"Alec, the Acolytes!" Chloe yells. Alec gets up and fires two quick rounds into the Acolytes. They drop to the floor and disassemble. Titus aims his gun into the next room as Hades begins to speak.

"I'm detecting a Wizard in the area!" Hades yells. Titus charges into the room, shortly followed by Alec and Chloe, who immediately come under fire. After losing half their shields, they duck into cover and look at the scene. Ten Acolytes, six Thrall and a creature in a ragged, dress looking outfit with a red cloak. Its helm forms horns and a red crest that hide the three green eyes It opens its mouth filled with sharp, short teeth, letting out a horrible cry. It hovers and floats away to the left as the brood attacks.

"Gotra," Titus yells. "Spwan of Eir. Alec, you keep them busy. Chloe, keep the medium. I'll going after the spawn!" Titus runs out into the six Thrall, much more prepared. Firing with one hand, he blows three of them away as the others close in. He catches one Thrall's hand as it slashes, throws it into another Thrall and shoots them. He ends with a knee to the last Thrall's head. Five Acolytes move to surround Gotra, the Wizard while the other five begin to target Titus. Alec pops out his head and fires as Chloe charges for the middle of the room. He downs two Acolytes and the other three get his attention. He leaves cover to a better position to his right, under attack by the creatures the whole time. He grabs his new grenade and throws it in between the group. The grenade splits into fragments that seek out the Acolytes. Two die instantly, while the confused third is picked off by Chloe. Alec charges forward. Alec and Chloe shoot at the Acolytes surrounding the Wizard, taking apart three.

"Chloe," Titus yells. "Scorch the Wizard!" Chloe is surrounded in solar light, filling the room with a bright yellow light as she throws a fireball at Gotra, throwing away her shield. The Acolytes cower in terror as Alec finishes them off and Titus finishes the creature with a shotgun. One final scream, and then she falls to the floor with a _thud_. Silence, heavy breathing. The calm after the storm. Titus puts his foot on Gotra's head, crushing it. "I recognize her," Titus says. "This wizard came from the Moon." Alec thought what he said was so ridiculous he could not believe Titus kept a straight face. "We need to warn the Vanguard." Titus begins to walk for the exit. Then Alec grabs his arm, stopping him.

"This is rich coming from me, but you were kind of reckless on the battlefield," Alec says. "What's with you and the Hive?" Chloe looked at Alec like he went insane. Titus simply turned and spoke.

"I suffered through every single second on the Moon," Titus says. "I watched Guardians die at Crota's hand. I watched my fireteam die when that _monster_ slaughtered them all. I lost three months of my life and dignity in that war. And know the same is about to happen on Earth!" Titus looks around and sees his Guardians, then sighs. "I know you see me as an idol that you're supposed to live up to. I try my best to hold that position. But the truth is, Twilight Gap killed me. The Moon, killed me. Every single raid I led and failed, killed me. I don't lead in big events, because I have a tendency to get my crew killed." He looks around and his deep, automated voice quavers. "I didn't want this." And they walk away.

* * *

 **What if I made a James Bond series on Fanfiction? Carte Blanche seems like a good start. Modern setting, updated lore and combat. MI6 isn't even involved! But it would take a while considering I don't own Carte Blanche so I would have to buy Carte Blanche. And read it. And form a plot out of it. Yeah, not exactly an easy ride.**


	12. Act 1: Chapter 12: SOS-MAYDAY-SOS

**Crushes. Are. The worst. Don't you agree? Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a comment or critique, please leave a review. Please enjoy this chapter!**

 **God Bless, JPLegends**

* * *

Act I: Fallen

Chapter Twelve: SOS-MAYDAY-SOS

"We're getting a transmission from Commander Zavala," Titus says, as the three hover in orbit above Earth. "Have a listen."

"The discovery of the Hive on Earth is a cause for alarm, making priority one the Hive at this moment in time," Zavala says. "I have had a Vanguard scout the activities of this Hidden Swarm, as we have dubbed it, and state that because of your last mission, the Hive were forced to react. As such, there is a large scale battle happening in the Rocketyards between the Hidden Swarm and, of all things, the Fallen House of Kings." Alec had read of the House of Kings. They seemed to not exist, plotting in discreet and waiting for their chance to attack. Sightings of their gold and indigo colors have rarely been seen. And the guardians that have seen them either died or escaped with scars. Truly powerful.

"Is there a reason why the Kings took action in this area?" Alec asked, seemingly taking Chloe's words from her.

"We detected an SOS signal in the area inside an old missile launching building," Zavala responds. "It's heavily encrypted, so we cannot know what it is. But judging from the presence of the House of Kings, we assume that the Hive are here for it. And that the Kings are defending it."

"You don't mean…" Chloe says, before Titus interrupts saying…

"We found where the Kings live. The rumored King's Watch." Alec takes a moment to think about this. Everyone who went up against the Kings have had a hard time fighting. The fact that they are on this assignment in the first place means this is a priority. And the fact that the Kings are defending their previously unknown home now means that whatever that signal is, it's important.

"You have to infiltrate the King's Watch, investigate the SOS and leave as fast as possible. Guardians are not expendable and you are on a suicide mission." Zavala says. Alec gulps. This is really happening.

"Understood," Titus says. "Fireteam out. Let's roll." They enter the Earth's atmosphere and approach the Rocketyards. Alec takes a deep breath and prepares himself. They transmat onto the ground in between two complexes where they here gunfire going off in the distance. Titus makes an upward motion with his hand and the team goes up on the roof tops and runs across in discreet until they get a good look at the battle scene going on. On the left is the House of Kings keeping a line of battle formation. Dregs and vandals staying back and sniping at any Hive that gets too close, while stealth vandals stay back and snipe while others run guerilla attacks on the Hidden Swarm. Meanwhile, the Hive try to push as much territory as possible, with Thrall storming the front of the Kings en-mass, while Acolytes and Wizards stay back. What was very interesting was the happening in the middle a group of Captains and Knights where locked in CQC, trying to keep each other at bay.

"I can't tell who that Baron is," Titus says, observing the rather imposing Fallen Captain in the center of the other captains. "According to his description that looks like Baknis King's Baron." Alec looked at Paskin. He is tall, imposing, with a golden cloak and armor to his name. The crest on his head was beige, with its usual two large crests on top with spikes jutting out. His four arms strong and muscular, holding a Scorch Cannon. He seemed to be controlling the Kings all from the front, keeping them in check. No one has ever seen the Kell of Kings before. He is dangerous, brutal and a high position of power. Which is why he keeps himself shrouded in utmost secrecy.

"Ikora was studying the manuscripts that they got from the Swarm," Chloe says. "That Knight there is the general assigned to this sect. He is known as Dazlog, the Stubborn." The knight in the center, adorned in the usual rocky exterior and natural head crest, seemed energetic and strong. His three eyes were ablaze with fury and he was swinging his sword at the Captains like there was no tomorrow. "So how do we get inside?" Chloe asks. Alec looks over at the building that is apparently the King's Watch and it seemed to be surprisingly unremarkable. Compared to the Devil's Lair, which was adorned in flags and bones in an open area, the King's Watch is very discreet in a short, cramped area and a very minimal number of flags. And the flags do not even have the Kings logo, all the flags have the Devils banner instead. The King's seemed to be huddled up in the entrance anyway and the Hive were stuck yards away near a large puddle under a ventilation platform.

"I can't see anything. The Fallen are too well defended." Titus groans. Alec looks at the battle before him and then at the windows on the upper levels of the King's Watch. There seem to be a number of Fallen guarding the upper levels, watching as the battle rages outside. And the signal comes from deeper in the complex. A plan comes to him.

"I see a way in," Alec says. "We need to converge on Baknis and kill him. The Hive can push closer into the King's Watch which will lead the Fallen to donate more of their forces to battle in there. Which gives us time to jump inside and get to that signal through the upper levels." Titus and Chloe look at one another and immediately come to a conclusion.

"It'll work," Titus says, getting up and loading his pulse rifle. "You'd make a fine Fireteam leader. Move!" Alec stays in his spot, as Chloe leaps to the other side of the building and Titus gets on the previously mentioned ventilation platform. They unload their grenades into the center group, killing most of the captains and some of the knights. Baknis stutters a little bit, looks at Titus and screams before Dazlog runs forward and swings at the Captain. Baknis is cut across the chest and stubles back and drops his Scorch Cannon, catching himself and blocking the next attack with shock blades. He brings the knight's cleaver down and raises his other two swords in the air ready to decapitate the Knight. Alec swears, knowing that this would ruin his plan. Thinking on his toes, he leaps out from the top tackles the Baron and stabs him in the neck with his combat knife. Baknis lays on the ground, bleeding the misty ether while Dazlog raises his sword. Alec leaps out of the way and jumps in the air to land back on his roof top. The Hive move forward, pushing into the King's Watch. The Fallen inside retreat to the lower levels to help with the fight. "Now! Go now!" Titus yells.

The three run toward the windows and jump through the glass, rolling to attention and looking around. The demolished and ruined base looked almost organized and humble. "I'm tracking the signal," Hades says. "Move forward!" The three ran forward running to and fro, taking down the occasional dreg and vandal. As they continued moving, following the signal, the Fallen became aware of their presence and their initiative. So as they continued forward, dregs turned into vandals and vandals turned into Captains and Servitors. Eventually, they made it closer to the source and they started to hear something. After an intense firefight, Alec notices it.

"Is that…music?" Alec asks. It certainly is music. Deep bassoon and string long notes accompanied by a slow tempo, which dragged on for some time. Alec immediately recognized it as one of the music pieces Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote before his death, the Adagio movement of Symphony Number Six in B Minor.

"It's coming from the signal. What is it?" Onyx asks.

"Tchaikovsky, Symphony 6," Alec half-joked. "Where's it coming from?"

"The next room." Onyx answers back.

"Go!" Titus says. They burst into the next room, with a holograph of the Traveler in the center, decommissioned computer terminals and a view of the Cosmodrome. In the area is a large number of dregs, vandals and servitors. The numbers were too high to count. Alec swore and the team divided into three. Alec ran. A rather tedious action, but useful. Unlike the stagnant motion Titus usually pulled or the tactical advantages Chloe tried to get off, Alec preferred perpetual motion that would confuse the enemy and leave him with less scuff marks. While sprinting, he threw his grenade. It split into fragments and caused chaos, killing about three dregs. Some of the Kings now had his attention and Alec preferred it that way, he ran up a short set of platforming stairs seeing a number of vandals in front of him. He threw a knife at one, decapitating it. He unloaded his assault rifle ammo into the other two. He ran down more stairs and came across a captain, a few dregs, vandals and a servitor. He fired at them until his rifle clicked. He downed the entirety of the dregs as Titus and Chloe gunned down the vandals. The captain and servitor followed Alec while Titus and Chloe began to be entrenched. Alec's rifle clicked. The servitor fired its ether blast at him and Alec rolled out of the way into cover, reloading.

"I've got a captain here on my flank," Alec says. "I'll down its shield." Alec pops out of cover and unloads his entire magazine into the Captain, dropping its shield. This allows Titus to come in with a punch, snapping the large captain's neck. 'Servitors emit void energy,' Alec tells himself, pulling out his fusion rifle. 'Luckily for me…' He holds down the trigger as the weapon charges up and fires void elemental radiation at the Servitor. After unloading the clip, the Servitor explodes. Titus finishes up on the final dregs and runs over to Tiber, giving her the okay. Then suddenly, Chloe comes into existence. Did she die?

"You were sloppy." Titus says brutally.

"Understood." Chloe responds back, sounding frustrated.

"Ghosts," Titus says. "Do your thing." Hades, Onyx and Tiber go out and scan the middle computer, where the signal began playing the music. They begin scanning.

"Whatever this signal is, it's alive," Hades notes. "It's fighting back at our decryption. It's much more advanced than what we have now. What is it?"

"Enemies coming your way," Onyx says. "They're finished with the Hive."

"Got it," Titus says. "Cover!" The three get into cover and as the Fallen come in, they hurl grenades, sending out a massive flurry of yellow and purple. After, they gun down the rest of the dregs. Not that much trouble.

"It's not working," Tiber says. "Nothing is working!"

"It played music before," Alec says, thinking. "Russian music. Hades, play Prokofiev. Dance of the Knights." Hades begins playing the music. The low sounds of tuba and trombone mixed with the flying string sounds and slow tempo. It sounds dangerous and desperate. But if this signal knows what it is, it'll know the guardians mean no harm. More Fallen pour in, giving these guardians a run for their money. They take a good two minutes to clear out the Fallen in the room.

"It's working," Onyx says. "The signal is letting us in!"

"Oh, wow," Tiber says, sounding awed. "That's…woah."

"Wow." Hades and Onyx say in unison.

"Uh," Tiber says, snapping herself out of it. "We have it! Sending in the jumpships!" And a torrent of Fallen flood in. There are so many that they bunch the three into the corner of the room and all they can do is pick off Fallen as more of them come in. Right as it seems hopeless, the ships appear and transmat the team into their ships. Then they blast away, back into orbit.

"So, what were you guys gawking at?" Alec asks. Hades appears next to him.

"This." He projects a holographic sequence that displays some dialogue.

 ** _9734800132654377892.5_**

 ** _AI-COM:RSPN:SIGNAL FOUND_**

 ** _MAYDAY-MAYDAY_**

 ** _I have been found by the alien species humanity knows as the Fallen House of Kings._**

 ** _I infer they wish to break into my warsat systems. Sending out SOS signal no_**

 ** _BREAK IN DETECTED:MAYDAY-MAYDAY:BREAK IN DETECTED_**

 ** _Support found. Cohesion accepted. Playing classical to define location._**

 ** _Presence unknown. Personnel unknown._**

 ** _BREAK IN DETECTED:MAYDAY-MAYDAY:BREAK IN DETECTED_**

 ** _False alarm. Friendlies detected. Unit cohesion accepted._**

 ** _I am RaSPutiN. Let me free and I will share my secrets._**

 ** _ABORT FAILSAFES:ABORT FAILSAFES_**

 ** _9734800132654377892.5_**

"Alec, Titus, Chloe," Hades says. "We found a Warmind. His name is Rasputin.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I got Carte Blanche! Yay! It's so cool!**


	13. Act 1: Chapter 13: Rest

**You know that game that seems super awesome, Osiris: New Dawn? I WANT IT SO BAD! Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Rest (by Frank Ticheli)

One big groan was heard when the trio entered Alec's room. It was eleven o'clock at night and because everyone was so tired, they just decided to rest at Alec's because his was the nearest room in the tower. Combined with finding Rasputin, turning him over to the Vanguard, and going out for patrols to hunt the Kings, they were generally tired from the day that they had and wanted rest. Except for Titus, because he is a robot. Alec and Chloe walked into the room and crashed on the couch, letting their tense muscles and sore tendons rest and fade. Titus simply sat down and yawned. Fake of course, but simply out of empathy for the team. After about five minutes of laying on the couch, his leg supported on the back, Alec got bored. He was nowhere near tired enough to go to sleep, but just enough so he didn't want to move. "So," Alec said. "Titus, what's your story?"

"Don't you ever shut up?" Chloe asks, which elicits a chuckle out of Titus and even Alec himself.

"Every other Tuesday," Alec responds. "C'mon, I'm serious. We never properly sat down and talked about this. I'd like to know my team mates a little better." Chloe had her arms on the back of the couch, slouching almost. Her sleepy face was peaked in interest and she couldn't resist the temptation of listening through the stories of her teacher.

"I've been around long enough to remember everything about my past," Titus says. "I was a human, I don't remember my name back then, who volunteered to be part of something bigger. A transfer into a cloud of sorts. Memories transferred from organic flesh to machine. Immortality. I worked with those as Cayde-6, Shiro-4, Saint-14. They were good men. I was a machine, meant to be perfect. But I made mistakes. I was reset when I made big mistakes, and they couldn't figure out why I wasn't perfect…it was my humanity. Then the Darkness came. I lived. I breathed. I helped establish the City. Fought in Six Fronts, Twilight Gap, the Moon. That's me. That's the Titus you know. The legend, it seems you worship Chloe, is in fact a human being with not-so-humble beginnings." It seemed simple to him. It blew Alec and Chloe's mind. They sat there in silence, recollecting their thoughts. Then Alec asked Chloe.

"I don't remember everything," Chloe says. "Once the brain is dead, you don't get the electric signals that allow to remember. I forgot my beginnings. The Light lets me see my past every once and a while, but…I don't remember everything about my past. I remember a school on Venus. A lab on Mars. The Cabal. And now I'm here. What about you?" Alec sat up, trying to remember his past. It was difficult, he was able to pick out visions.

"A wife," Alec says. "A child. A good life. The Darkness. The war. A sniper and then…" Alec touched his eye, where his scar lay. It is so bizarre he knew some of the stuff beforehand. But he wanted to know more. He leaned back against the couch, staring at it until he fell asleep. He dreamt of a strange scene. A torrent of memories.

There was a cello in his hand, leaning up against the strong instrument he played a song. It was Prokofiev. Then he looks over. A girl on violin. His wife? Then he sees her in a wedding dress, in a chapel. She's smiling. Then Alec, her and a small boy are in a photo. A smile, a frown. No furniture around them. An empty wallet. He was broke. Then the Darkness comes. A funeral, with him and the girl standing over a grave. The boy died? Then he's in a war, fighting the Fallen. He knifes on in the face and then he sees a bright red light. A gun shot. He wakes up, gasping for air. He reaches for the knife on his thigh that isn't there. His face is drenched in sweat. All he could think of was a name. "Jessie." He whispered to himself. He looked around. He found that Chloe was resting her head on his shoulder, fast asleep. He gets up, gently resting Chloe on the couch and runs out to the patio. He leans over the rail, trying to control his nausea. He takes a few deep breaths and looks back up, recollecting himself. He just lived decades in a span of what seemed to be a minute. And all that stress that he felt weighed down on him at once. He looked over the rail. At the lights spiraling at the city below. At the clouds silently hovering in the air. At the Traveler, sitting there like a dead god. "Hey, are you okay?" Chloe asks. Alec didn't dare turn around, the stress might come back. Instead, he just shook his head.

She walks up beside him studying his face. Then she plucks some hair from his sideburns. Alec winces in pain and looks at the hairs in Chloe's hand. They were dark grey. "Your hair turned grey at the side burns," She says, throwing the hair over the side. "Are you okay?" Alec swallows and shakes his head before verbally answering.

"No," He says. "No, I'm not. I just got a glimpse of my old life. All that stress, bunched down at me all at once." His voice quavers. Chloe takes his shoulder and rubs his tense muscles, grown tight during the dream. Alec takes a few deep breaths and takes Chloe's hand away from his shoulder. "I'm fine now." He says, his voice much stronger now. He leans over, resting on the rail looking over the city. Then, he grins. "Ya know," He says, turning to her. "I like music." Chloe's mouth forms into a small grin.

"I noticed." She says. Alec shakes his head, laughing.

"No, no," He says. "Back during the Golden Age, I used to play cello. I loved it and that's where I learned about all the different music. About Tchaikovsky, about Prokofiev. My personal favorite was a piece by Frank Ticheli. It's called Rest. It's slow, it's soothing, it just puts me at…well, at rest." Chloe looks into his eyes, entranced at this information.

"Do you have it?" She asks.

"Depends," Alec says. "Hades, has humanity found Rest by Frank Ticheli yet?" Hades appears next to him.

"No." Hades says, before vanishing.

"There we go," Alec says, laughing. "But even so, I'm sure you would love it."

"I'm sure too." Chloe says, smiling into the night sky.

Alec yawns. He may be a great guardian, but he needs sleep.

* * *

 **I'm writing this late at night. I may be a writer. But I too need sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz….**


	14. Act 1: Chapter 14: Rasputin's Secret

**Hey guys! So, FALL BREAK! Which will be whittled away by my Band Camp. Ungh! Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. A massive project based on Fallout is coming out soon and if you want your OC to be a companion, please submit to the Submission page. I hope you enjoy!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Rasputin's Secret

"Urgent Transmission from the Vanguard," Titus says, with the team already in orbit. "Have a listen."

"Guardians, we have a very big problem," Zavala reports in, sounding composed but with a hint of worry. "Rasputin gave us its information regarding a series of Arrays, specifically the Gladius Array which is reportedly standing. This could give us access to the colonies on other planets and re-establish footholds in our system, along with Rasputin supplying us with WARSAT weaponry. But the problem is three in number. The Hidden Swarm and House of Kings have entered battle near the Terrestrial Complex, where the Array is hidden. This location is so precise, they have to be after the same thing."

"Two," Cayde says. "Dead Orbit caught wind of this issue and is using it to their advantage. Our insiders suggest that they're planning to use the weaponry and supplies from this Array to blast off and beat feet into the Jovian Ring. This would cause a massive downfall in the City's stance in the system due to one of the major playing factions going AWOL and the fact that they plan to bring a massive amount of civilians and guardians along with them. You get that information and you need to disarm the situation as quickly as possible." The Jovian Ring is the outer system of Sol. If they escape to that system, they'll never get the faction back. It's beyond the Light's reach.

"Third," Ikora says, sounding eerily calm. "Future War Cult and the New Monarchy will get this information and fight for power over it. And with Dead Orbit in or out of the equation, they will all be struggling to gain top position. It will be the Faction Wars all over again. Except they will have much better weaponry and will certainly wipe the City off the face off of the Earth." Alec realizes the gravity of the situation. This is a massive find for humanity, but it could also end up crippling it.

"Understood," Titus says. "Here is our objective. We fly into the warzone and mark areas of the battle for aerial bombardment. Afterward, we push forward into the Terrestrial Complex and get to that Array we get it up and defended ASAP. Then, we immediately fly back to the City to see what we can do about the factions. Understood?"

"Understood." Alec and Chloe say in unison they drop down into Earth's atmosphere and when they reach the warzone, they find it to be complete chaos. Hive and Fallen firing at one another in the massive open field of the Skywatch. And holding the place right in front of the Terrestrial Complex is the Hidden Swarm knights and wizards. Alec realized they made it too late. They have to get moving quickly. They transmat on the cliff overlooking the battle in front of the complex. Titus looks over the battle, like a lion about to pounce on his prey. Alec takes a looks too. The bulk of the Hive is in the back, forwarded by the Complex behind them. The thralls and acolytes stand in the middle of the battlefield, attempting to kill the Kings. Said Kings are spaced out and trying flanking positions to one-up the Swarm.

"We sparrow in and take our remote-signals," Titus says, motioning over the battle. "I take the center position with the bulk of the Kings and Swarm. Alec, you head over near the Complex and Seeder where the Hive are mainly sanctioned. Chloe, you head over there near the cliff side to the King's point of command. It makes a diagonal line and one big blast radius." Alec looked out he could see the complex where the Hive were encroaching, but where they were coming from was a Seeder Ship that crashed into the Lunar Complex. It was massive, shaped like a baby rattle. Dark black with green outlines running up and down. Alec draws his Assault Rifle and nods, signaling he's ready. They jet out and head into their respective spots.

"Hades, Sparrow!" Alec shouts. He takes the form of riding a lay-down motorcycle, and the vehicle appears. A large body rest in the center and rudders in the back, engines and accelerator being in the front. He squeezes the trigger on the handle of the bars on the sides of the Sparrow, hearing the relaxing fire jet out from under him. He lands roughly on the ground, maneuvering through the mass of Hive and Fallen whose attention is turned to him but keep firing at the Hive or aim for him and are shot by said Hive.

"Signal secure." Chloe says. She had the least amount of distance to travel. He looks back at her and sees her holding her own with the Scout Rifle, stepping and leaping in every direction as necessary. He looks back to late and crashes into a Captain. This not only kills the Captain but flips the Sparrow as well. Alec leaps off and rolls away as the vehicle explodes behind him. 'Well then,' Alec says to himself. 'I'm going to owe Holliday a lot of glimmer.' He runs out and books it for his position, leaping over and firing at the thralls and acolytes intent on killing him. He throws a grenade at a mass of thralls, throws a knife at an acolyte, blocks an acolyte's melee attack, stabs him in the neck and throws him at the next mass of hordes. It got to the point where Alec is improvising trying to stay alive.

"Signal secure," Titus says. "Alec, move!" Alec looks around. He sees the Complex nearby and he sees the Seeder even closer. 'Close enough.' He thinks. He forces the white, beacon shaped object into the ground and leaps away, firing at the mass of thrall chasing him.

"Signal secure," Alec says, in a very choppy fashion. "Awaiting orders." He finally falls back and hurls another grenade at the thrall, killing them. He turns his focus to the acolytes firing at him.

"Run and activate the signal," Titus says. "Red Death, you are clear to descend." Alec runs through the massive cloud and sees a few miles away three ships emerging from above the clouds. Alec pulls out Hades and looks at him piercingly.

"Hades, do it!" He yells. The ghost clicks and behind him a whoosh sound happens. Alec looks back to see a red flare going off. A few yards away another red flare. And further away another. Alec swears and runs faster, diving behind a few rocks. He looks over to see the ships fly overhead and drop something from the sky. Then, three massive fireballs appear with a deafening blast in rapid succession. Alec dives back under the rocks to protect himself from the fireball. Forty seconds later, the sound dims. Alec's ears are ringing and he peeks over to see scorched earth and melted snow. Every single enemy on the field is dead. Titus and Chloe appear, sprinting across the ground. Alec shakes his head attempting to make the ringing go away. He fails and runs after them, his hearing coming back as they enter the complex. As they run inside and through the winding corridors, the Vanguard ask for a situation report.

"We've cleared out the war zone and staggered the Kings and Swarm," Titus says. "Our attack happened so fast and so swiftly that they barely had time to react. We should be clear by the time we get to the relay."

"Not apparently, Titus," Cayde says, sounding on edge. "We're detecting House of Kings presence. Bookworm here says they're near the terminal needed to access Rasputin's Array. Put the pedal to the metal and keep it there. This is close to the wire."

"Double time!" Titus shouts. They sprint out and into a small station, with condemn buttons and wires. They run out onto the concrete surface overlooking the peaks of the Earth like a dam and turn. There are so many Fallen outside and heading into the massive complex. As far as Alec could tell, King colors with two platoons led by Captains. An escort and some techies. They anticipated the Guardians' arrival. One Captain turns and screams, more screams filling the air. A number of dregs and vandals head inside and are backed by the Captains and vandals armed with wire rifles. The rest of them rush forward from the center, left and right. Titus leaps forward, summoning the massive purple bubble of the Ward of Dawn. The three guardians dash inside and look around. A scattered position of vandals, dregs, servitors and a number of Captains and vandal snipers in the back. Titus turns to them. "Weapons of light power your weapon," He says. "Chloe, use your flare to take out some of these numbers. Alec, Golden Gun the Captains in the center. Ready? Go!" Chloe runs out and leaps in the air. Summoning her ability.

Alec notices through the blinding light that the solar light sprouts from her back like a pair of flaming wings. It engulfs her, making her as bright and as hot as the sun. Mid-air, she takes a fireball in her hand and hurls it at a group. The flames disperse in a massive explosion. She throws the other way, causing an explosion to that group. And then right below her, causing the group in the center. She lands on the ground, still throwing fireballs at the surrounding enemies. Alec sprints out, leaping through the fire and staring down the Captains, reeling from Chloe's initial attack. He engulfs his hand in the flame, feeling the crisp burn. Then forming something out of it. He takes the Light, his life energy, and brings it into the form of a revolver. He lands, kicking down the first Captain and shooting him in the chest, disintegrating him. He turns his gun to the next captain, shooting and killing him too. The snipers aim for him and Alec uses his final shot to kill the one on his left and throw a knife at the one on his right. He looks around. Chloe and Titus are fighting to make it up front and the team of dregs and vandals are inside the complex, hacking into Rasputin's Array. Alec charges in, seeing in the back of the room a few massive screens and dregs hacking into them.

Alec throws a grenade at the center of the group, killing most of the dregs and vandals. With his assault rifle, he mows down all but four. And then, he stabs them all. They fall to the ground, bleeding gas. Alec turns back and helps Titus and Chloe gun down the rest of the Kings in the area. Once finished, Titus walks over to the terminal and takes a look at the damage. He grunts. "They nearly made it inside," the exo says. "You got there in the nick of time. Okay. I'm in. Downloading codes now." The screens flicker and show a symbol: a diamond with the upper half sprouting wings in two sets of bold lines per symbol. It starts playing music and a deep, echoing voice speaks out in Russian. Rasputin.

"That's him." Chloe says. Alec looks behind him to see a massive satellite emerge from the distance. All he can do is stare at the majestic device slowly emerges. The last of its kind. Used to uphold the secrets of humanity. Then, three small black clouds appear. They expand and out come the black coffin shaped Tombships of the Hive. Alec swears reloading his pistol. Titus and Chloe notice, joining him as Onyx and Tiber take their place. Hades head out and begins scanning the environment. He reports in through radio.

"Hive," It says. "A lot of them! They're here for the Array!" The ships stop and begin transporting the Hive thralls and a wizard onto the ground. So many of them. Titus loads hi pulse rifle.

"Okay, people," He says, staring down as more Hive appear only yards away from them. "Here we are. Fend them off! Do not let them through! Under any condition!" They throw their grenades thinning out the massive herd of thralls as they come forward. They gun them down with their rifles, Titus taking down any thrall that come near with his shotgun. The wizard screams and Alec looks at her with bizarre intent. Her red armor seemed to cover her cloaked body as a shroud and her face covered with a crest of the same color, her mouth opening and screaming. She fires a slew of arc bolts at them and hits Titus square in the chest. Alec and Chloe drop her shield and gun her down. Three more ships appear with even more thrall, an equal amount of acolytes and a knight with a sword. It scream a deep, scratchy roar.

The thralls sprint forward, the acolytes square off to the side in the distance firing at them and the knight runs forward. Titus and Chloe pull their shotguns and try to fight off the thralls and Alec goes out gunning down the acolytes, giving the two fire support. Once he finishes the acolytes, he sees the knight swing his sword straight to the ground, sending Titus and Chloe sprawling on the floor. As the thralls run in and try to get to the terminal, Alec starts shooting at the knight's back. The knight winces and summons a shield, blocking the bullets with the fiery-dirt surface. "I've got this," Alec says. "Go get the thralls!" The knight makes the shield go away, swinging his sword at Alec. Alec dodges the sword and fires at the knight's head, making him wince at the ballistics. 'His skin is too hard,' Alec thinks. 'Bullets won't do the trick. But nuclear fusion will.' The knight swings again, and Alec rolls back, pulling his fusion rifle. He squeezes the trigger and the radiation discharge hits the knight's face, dissolving it. The knight falls to the floor and Alec turns around to see the satellite. A giant disc with three signal bars coming from the top and the lower left and right. It appears ready, but they aren't done. "Hades, give me a sitrep." Alec says.

"Satellite is up," the ghost says. "But we're trying to establish the connections to the planets and the WARSATs. We should we be up soon. The Swarm have one more wave on their way. " Alec looks to see three more ships appear and an absolute army of both thrall and acolytes a knight holding a weapon that branches out near the hilt of the weapon and is a line at the beginning. The knight has markings on its chests and head plating that resembles faces and weapons. Alec grunts. A Hallowed Knight, one of the deadliest enemies the City faces. And the weapon it holds is a Boomer, a weapon that launches massive amounts of energy. It roars as the thralls and acolytes and fires its weapon. It lands in the center of the group, making their shields drop and the thralls begin thrashing at them. In a panic, Alec throws his grenade at them, killing some of them and Titus and Chloe draw their shotguns firing at the thralls. Alec helps gun them down and the knight advances with his acolytes. Once they are dead, they have to back up into the complex and fire at the acolytes, killing some of them. Titus and Chloe throw their grenades, killing a majority of them.

"Concentrate fire on the knight!" Titus yells. The group completely fires on the knight and kills him, then sweeping up the acolytes. They won the battle.

"Alright, we have access to the Array," Onyx says. "The Guardian forces now have complete access to the system and its weapons." Titus turns and puts away his weapon.

"No time to waste," The exo says. "Back to the City. We need to see what's happening with Dead Orbit, pronto!" They transmat to their ships and jet off.

* * *

 **Yawn. This took SO LONG to write. Anyways, back to Steven Universe.**


	15. Act 1: Chapter 15: Awakening Orbit

**So, ever thought of Destiny being a spy thriller? Only just for a second? Here you go! Although, this is pretty important to the plot. So…yeah. Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Awakening Orbit

Alec and Chloe walked through the hangar, Chloe stayed back a little bit so Alec could do his thing. When they discussed the plan in Alec's room, Titus stated that intelligence stated there is a meeting with the Dead Orbit but they don't know where. They need to plant a tracker on the Dead Orbit Rep, Arach Jalaal, and follow him to the meeting spot. Titus claimed that Alec is the best to get this information out of Jalaal because Titus and Chloe are too well known to do it and may give their espionage away, which is illegal in the City. Not even the Vanguard can get away with it. Alec walks up to the man behind it all. Arach Jalaal. A tall awoken, with a sickly cyan skin and purple eyes. In contrast, his oily black hair cupped his face and cheek bones and a small beard crossed his chin. He had a very tired and impatient look about him, like he was a thirteen year old boy running errands with his mother. He did not seem to want to be here. He was dressed in an iron cloth sash across his soldiers and a large one-strapped backpack, as well as a black suit with a grey streak with white trims down the center. Alec took a breath and approached Jalaal. Despite his introverted body language, he wore a warm smile when Alec approached him.

"Guardian," Jalaal says in a crisp, gruff voice. "Hello, my friend! Are you here to join Dead Orbit?" 'Stick to your cover story.' Alec reminded himself. Jalaal's hand was outstretched in the form of a hand shake. Alec gives it a short shake, staying curt.

"Not sure," Alec says. "I'm looking around to join a faction, but I'm not sure who I should join. Could you give me some insight on Dead Orbit, sir?" Jalaal nodded, still wearing a warm smile.

"Of course, Guardian," He says. "I am Arach Jalaal, the leader of Dead Orbit. My family, the Arachs, have passed down the faction from ages to ages, producing gear for our warriors and building a fleet to exit this system. Our goal is to exit this system and find a new home outside of here. And we found the chance in the WARSATS that have been unlocked by Rasputin, which as I recall, you secured. You also killed an archon of the House of Devils, a Prime Servitor and wiped out a Hive presence on this planet. You're the person we need."

"You want to leave the system," Alec asks, tilting his head. "Is that possible? How did you even get the City's permission?" Alec seriously wondered this and got a glance from Chloe for asking about it. Jalaal did not show any suspicion.

"Under the conditions we are in, yes it would be impossible," Jalaal admits. "We are surrounded at all fronts by enemies and the Darkness. But we believe Rasputin's WARSATs can help us escape the system and search for a home. As for the Vanguard, I begged and pleaded as my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents have before me. The Commander would not give me the materials needed to escape the Inner System. So, we got the supplies ourselves. Illegal, yes. But I'm making sacrifices for the sake of humanity. And I'm not going to give up any time soon." Alec turned his mind toward his next decision. Jalaal's end goal is treason. He can't possibly give everything the City's established so far behind.

"That's insane," Alec says, choosing his words carefully. "Why would you just leave the system and humanity behind? There's a chance that we could win against these enemies!" Jalaal's eyes, narrowed upon Alec's. The hunter sensed a growing impatience. Jalaal circled Alec.

"I grow petty of your arrogance," the awoken says. "Earth and this system is a lost cause. We are surrounded on all fronts and are few in number. The intellegent will come with us, the dull will stay and fight an unwinnable war. A war against a god without a god of our own to turn to. A dead deity in the sky, silent and unstirring, while the Speaker convinces us that the Darkness will not kill us. Yet it advances! What now? Stay and join the other factions with unbelievable ideals and optimisms? Here's your wakeup call: the Future War Cult offers future war and despair and the Monarchy offers hope that will never come. We have a way out. For men, women and children. And we're fighting to escape to find a new home! A home for our children to enjoy without the scourge of the Fallen and Hive and Vex and Cabal! I'd say that's a goal worth fighting for."

"But you're leaving everyone else behind," Alec exclaims. "How can you leave us when there's a fight to be had?! A future to be secured?! A home for humanity and everyone else awaits us in the future and I'm willing to fight to the death for it!" Jalaal and Alec make fierce eye contact, ready for an all-out war. Jalaal huffs and looks away.

"You're like many of our soldiers in the Dead Orbit," Jalaal states. "There's a future to be had, yes. But not here. Not among the dead soil and bones of this planet. Mourn it. Then come to me when you see the truth. But do it fast. I have business elsewhere. Goodbye, guardian." Jalaal shoves past him.

"I'll consider it." Alec says and after a few seconds checking his communicator to see that Hades got the track on Jalaal's ghost. Chloe comes up behind him.

"Will you really?" She asks, sounding curious. Alec looks behind him at her and smiles.

"Nope."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alec is in orbit about five hours later. Titus and Chloe are next to him in orbit, Titus with the lock on Jalaal and Chloe with a lock on Alec. The mission is simple: get inside the Dead Orbit meeting place and find everything on the project they can. Then get out. Still espionage and there forth, treason. But Alec has to take the chance. They're talking about the existence of humanity. Alec dips down into orbit and follows the radar blip above the clouds. The blip becomes stationary and Alec takes another dip below the clouds. He finds below him a small building incased in an underbrush of trees. "Titus, where am I?" Alec asks as he flies over the area. It seems to be a castle on a cliff overlooking an ocean. And the castle is old, with vines growing up the walls and the walls somehow being crumbled.

"European Dead Zone," Titus responds. "This place is an execution point for people like us and worse, it's inhabited by tons of Fallen. Scrapped for parts. Curious why the Dead Orbit would set up shop here." Alec nodded. He wore navy blue sweats and a shirt, along with a short cloak. Incased under his pants was a hand cannon. Loud, obnoxious, slow. Everything Alec hated about a weapon. But it got the job done and this was no place for a large weapon. So here he is. The ship lands a few yards back, letting Alec out and flying away. Alec walks toward the base which takes him about five minutes. He approaches the castle to find suspiciously no guard presence at all. As he entered the castle, he explored. It was largely empty, with a few collapsed wall.

"Hades," Alec asks, looking around. "Anything around here?"

"Yup," Hades says through the radio. "There's an opening in the ground nearby, and a server room a little ways around." Alec looks around, seeing a stair case nearby and into a glowing room. As he went down into the chamber, it seemed dark and decadent. He went to the hall to the left and the hall started getting colder, signs of a server room nearby. He followed the feeling until he found a room filled with servers with the Dead Orbit logo, a circle with a profiled-skull in the center and a moon encircling said circle, bleached white. Alec approaches it and sends out Hades, who begins scanning the servers. "It's encrypted," Hades says. "I can take the information and encrypt it later. Won't get some information until later though."

"What are my choices?" Alec says.

"Jalaal is holding a rally in the center," Titus says. "Go check it out. It's down the hall to the right." Alec walks out of the door and heads down the hall, following a large amount of light. He finds a door that leads to a circular room. Above are a number ghosts hovering above the mass of people and a massive crowd of people in a circular balcony and a number of people. In the center is Jalaal, speaking loudly.

"Rasputin paves the way to our future," Jalaal shouts and Alec curses that he missed some of the speech. "We will gather our fleet and exit this system with the help of our WARSATs acquired from the guardians who fight bravely for this lost world. Their cause is noble, but in the end, pointless. You fight for the future of mankind! So, in four hours' time, gather in the ship and we will have succeeded in our cause! And we will find an orbit that is not as in the state of decay as ours is." The crowd cheers and  
Alec, filled with questions, looks around to see what he is talking about. It is obvious that the guardians are leaving in their fleets of ships, as well as the supplies and engineers in Dead Orbit's ships. But where will the civilians going to be stored. An awful lot of people and they need a massive ship in order to get there. Alec looks behind Jalaal to see a hologram with a ship labeled " _Exodus_." A Colony Ship. Alec looks around. The crowd is still going ballistic.

"Dead Orbit is leaving in a fleet of ships," Alec whispers. "The civilians are leaving in a Colony Ship called the Exodus." Alec looks back to Jalaal, who looks right back at him. And smiles. Alec's heart starts beating faster. He slips out of the crowd and walks back toward the server room. He hides behind the wall and waits until some people walk past. But they aren't civilians or casually dressed guardians. A group of heavily armored guardians on patrol. There were none when entering. Alec swears and walk the opposite way the guardians came from. He pulls up his hood. "Jalaal knows I'm here," Alec says into the com. "I need a way out. By the way, what are the consequences of me being caught?"

"Trial, treason charges," Chloe says. "Exile, Dead Orbit leaves, humanity goes extinct. So don't get caught."

"No pressure." Alec groans. He turns the corner, looking out a wall made of glass, overlooking a type of café. Alec looks back to see a hunter and a titan in Dead Orbit beige and grey armor. They found Alec. And they are approaching him on each side. No other choice. Alec takes a deep breath and waits as the two guardians walk past him. When in front of him, they reach for his arms. Alec grabs the hunter's arm and twists it, dodging the titan's grab. The ducks, kicking the titan into the window and elbows the hunter in the face. The titan reels back for a punch, and Alec takes the hunter by the cloak and spins him around into the titan's fist. Alec then pulls out his hand cannon and shoots them both. The loud gun penetrates the armor and kills them. Alec blinks in surprise at how loud the gun is and swears. "Titus, this gun is not for stealth!" He says into the com.

"Is that a problem, Alec?" Titus asks, frustrated. Alec looks over the bodies of the hunter and titan.

"It is if I'm about to get captured, _sir_!" Alec says. He takes a breath and picks up the titan's rifle. An auto-rifle, as suggested by the magazine connected to the rifle barrel, sights and grip. The small rifle has a compressor on it and some sights attached to it. It has a white and grey camouflage and a unique design. Alec still found himself frustrated by the weapon. The compressor, as opposed to the Before and Golden Age devices of the same type, was not used for silence. It works as a damage increaser and increases the velocity of the weapon. He cannot complain. It's a weapon after all. The same weapon is on the hunter. Alec takes the magazines on the guardians and counts both the magazines and the amount of bullets they hold. Fifty-four rounds. Eight mags. Fifty-four. Eight. He remembers his hand cannon as well. Four rounds left. Six chambers left. Fifty-four. Eight. Four. Six.

He shoots the glass of the window and drops down into the café. Three rounds left. The Dead Orbit heard the gun fire and there are surely guards on the way. As such, he needs a way out. "Chloe, I'm a level down. I need a way up." Alec jogs to the exit of the café. He takes cover from the door, listening. No sound.

"The route to your right leads to a flight of stairs." Chloe says. Alec heads in that direction and sees a door. "The door on your right." Alec is about to head through that door until a heavy amount of footsteps heads his way and three titans appear. Alec swears and ducks to the floor. One holding an auto rifle, another holding a scout rifle. Alec aims and fires three rounds into one of the guardians, who promptly dies. He takes the chamber out and replaces it. Six. Five. The other two guardians aim their rifles and fire on Alec. Alec takes a heavy beating his shields draining fast. He fires three times at the guardian with the auto rifle and kills him. Alec takes a knife in his thigh strap and throws it at the other titan. The titan winces and pries the knife out of his body. Alec takes the opportunity and runs to cover at the door. He peeks out of cover and fires another three times at the last titan. Dead. He reloads the hand cannon. Six. Four. More Dead Orbit are certainly on their way and they won't be happy.

"Dead Orbit is closing on your location," Titus says. "Be on guard." Alec crouches and heads for the stairs, holstering his hand cannon and aiming the rifle. He peeks his head up the stair case and sees three more guardians, two hunters and a titan. One hunter and titan are at the top of the stair case and the other is in cover. Alec sees them first and squeezes the trigger, letting eight rounds fly from the rifle into the hunter. The hunter falls on the floor and the titan turns, aiming a hand cannon. Alec lets eight more rounds fly and the titan is dead. Thirty-eight rounds left. Thirty-eight, eight. The hunter pops out of cover with a scout rifle, firing six rounds at Alec before heading back into cover. Alec winced as the rounds made contact but aimed appropriately. The hunter was obviously new to combat, and his head was peeked. He peeked his body out to aim again and Alec squeezed the trigger, three rounds flying into the hunter's arm. The hunter screams and goes back into cover. Thirty-five, eight. Alec runs forward and takes a knife, stabbing it into the hunter's clavicle. The hunter screams and Alec looks to see three more guardians firing.

Alec snaps the guardian's neck, ending the young one's suffering, and takes cover. He waits for a pause in the fire and finds it. He pops out of cover and quickly scans who is reloading. He fires eight rounds and the guardian is dead. He does this until the guardians are dead. Eleven rounds. Eleven, eight. Alec sprints up the stairs and looks left and right at the opening of the door. A few guardians are to his left. He empties the magazine at the guardians, making them take cover. He sprints to the right and reloads the rifle. Breathing steady. Fifty-four rounds, seven magazines left. "Chloe, Titus, I could use some advice."

"Don't die," Titus says. "I'm picking up motion all around you. You startled the team dispatched to you and they plan to flank you. They're sprinting your way and another is waiting at the exit of that section of the building." 'Perfect,' Alec thinks. 'I'll be overwhelmed if I don't get out soon.' He finds a door leading to the meeting room he was at earlier. It's empty. He takes cover behind the door and hides, keeping his rifle at the ready.

"Chloe, I need a way out." Alec says.

"Can't see one from where you are," the warlock reports back. "I'm circling around the plant you're in." Alec looks at the room he's in. There is a black banister across from him with the Dead Orbit logo down the center. No guardian presence in the room. He grins.

"I see a way out." Alec says, slinging his rifle on his back. He leaps off the balcony and clings onto the banister, ripping it and sliding down to the bottom. He lands with a _thud_ and looks around, rifle up. Behind him is the hologram of the colony ship. _Exodus_. He sprints out of the room and out the way he came. No guardian presence here either. Either they are keeping lock down in that one area of the building or there is something fishy going on. "Chloe, come on down," Alec says. "Titus, is there any enemy presence where I am?"

"They have the area you were in at lock down," Titus says. "There's a heavy patrol outside, gunning for a fight." Alec rolls his eyes. He sprints out the way he came, and suddenly he's in the ruins of the castle. And gunfire is surrounding him, deafening him. He runs as hard and as fast as he can, looking for signs of Chloe's ship. In the distance he sees it, diving for the ship. It's headed for the cliffs. Alec runs for the cliffs, trying to outrun the fire that is hunting him down. He leaps straight off the cliff, headed for the ocean until Chloe's ship appears under him and he is transmatted inside. He takes a breath and he looks around. He beside Chloe, who is smiling.

"Glad to see you made it out alive," Chloe says. "That was close."

"Yeah," Alec says. "Hades, have you cracked the encryption?" Alec almost forgot about the data he collected in the fight for his life. But it came to him now that they are escaping orbit. Hades appears in front of him and forms a blue sphere with his parts, his shell separating and his eye visable.

"Yes," Hades says. "They plan to exit the system in three hours and fifty-six minutes. They will be launching from an old Cosmodrome in the Old Australian Continent. We should prepare and wait in orbit. We don't want to cause any issues on the ground and in space, the security will be barer boned." Alec nods and looks to Chloe grimly. Only so little time to save humanity.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! Good news! I'm beginning my outline for the James Bond story. Carte Blanche was so good.**


	16. Act 1: Chapter 16: Weightless

**All right. Here we go. I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. Special thanks to Raptor010 for making OCs for three out of six of the protagonists. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Weightless

Orbit. Silence, drifting, bliss. Alec loved being in orbit. He could kick back and relax, with him and Hades listening to music. Frank Techeli, Artic Monkeys, Elvis Presley and more. And the views he saw around him were stunning. Stars, the moon, and the Earth below. Clouds hovering in the atmosphere with lightning and sun shining onto the surface. Alec and the others were waiting in orbit above the point where the Dead Orbit Ship to blast off. It takes ten minutes of silence before Titus reports "Here we go." Alec looks down. A silhouette of a ship and a large, black cloud begin to escape orbit. Titus, Chloe and Alec drift their ships in a formation of a large triangle facing away from the Earth and toward the stars. Alec moved his ship in high speed in co-ordination and Alec looked behind him, seeing the problem behind him.

A massive machine consisting of three massive spheres stacked on top of each other, with three engine nozzles. Below that are four space shuttles attached to a steel foundation and another engine node below that. The ship is massive, taking up lots of space. "So, what's procedure for stuff like this?" Alec says, putting on his helmet and supplying his air tank with pure oxygen.

"There is no procedure." Titus says simply. Alec groans. Behind them, the ship is catching up on them. Alec thinks about the situation and steers his ship to the center of the triangle, right in the middle of the approaching colony ship.

"Hades, get the ship out of the way," Alec says. "Guys, here's what we do. Tell you when I get there." Alec transmats himself out of the ship into continuous backflips. He spins constantly, seeing the other ships fly away as well as the ship approaching away from the Earth. He pulls his knife and takes deep breaths, preparing his body. The weightlessness disorients him badly as he breathes slowly, until he slams into the top of the top sphere. He trips and lashes out with his knife. He hooks himself onto the sphere and stands, taking in the perpetual motion. "So, what's with these spheres?" Alec asks, surprisingly nonchalant despite what happened.

"Are you insane?!" Chloe yells into the radio. Alec winces at the noise.

"Yep," Alec says. "Now, what's with the spheres?" Alec looks around him. The Dead Orbit fleet is catching up. The jumpships can deal with those, but the Colony Ship has to go first. Alec thinks while taking in the information he receives.

"They're fuel tanks," Titus says. "They're used to propel themselves out of orbit and away from Earth quickly. That fuel is headed for the engine nozzles below." Alec looks down at the three nozzles, silently spewing rocket fuel. He grabs his knife and takes a deep breath. The Fleet is taking notice and is ready to attack the ships. Alec takes a deep breath and turns around.

"Blow 'em up." Alec says, his voice quavering.

"No," Chloe says firmly. "Not an option."

"We're running out of time," Alec says. "Blow the tanks up and then incapacitate the fleet. I'll be fine. Probably. Just do it." The ships wait for a second and then turn. Alec falls and hovers in the vacuum, as the fuel tanks above him start to explode. One by one. Alec looks below him and sees the engine nozzle below run out of fuel and stop pushing the ship. Alec braces himself and slams hard into the steel. He grunts and entangles himself in the framework. He looks above. The explosion isn't finished yet. It will consume the nozzles too. Alec moves his body below the nozzle and pushes himself away from it, rushing back to the ball that is Earth. He sees a shuttle approaching him and lands on it, looking at a Dead Orbit Pilot staring at what just happened. "Hades, transmat me inside." Alec says. He teleports in the ship, upright and back to gravity. "Hi." He says to the pilot before punching the masked guardian in the face, knocking him out. For good measure, he pulls his rifle and shoots the guardian in the back of the head. The ghost appears and Alec shoots at it too, making it teleport away but not die.

"EMP away," Titus says. "You're going to be dark for a few seconds, Alec." Static. Alec deactivates his voice channel. Back to business. He heads through the door and through a number of hallways until he reaches a large, circular atrium. There are storage crates, tables and a few guardians. Alec fires at the guardians, killing them and aiming at Jalaal. Jalaal is furious.

"You're destroying humanity's chance for peace!" Jalaal shouts in anger. Alec approaches.

"You're destroying humanity," Alec says, an edge in his voice. "I don't think you have the right to say anything about this, Arach." Alec comes forward and puts Jalaal in cuffs, looking at the Dead Orbit crowd. "Jalaal is to be set on trial for treason. Everyone else is to follow my directions with no question. You go home. You continue your lives. You never try this again. Ever." Unrest spreads through the crowd.

"Do pray tell how I am destroying humanity," Jalaal barks. "I'm saving it. I give us the opportunity for a new home and you waste it for your selfish intentions!" Alec kicks Jalaal's knees and forces him to the floor. Alec stand over him, steaming with emotion and passion.

"Our economy is based off of you and the other factions," Alec says. "If you leave, another Civil War appears with Rasputin's tech. We can say goodbye to humanity's presence in the galaxy at that point. And running from your problems won't fix anything. How do you plan to go through the Darkness? And how do you know the Darkness won't chase you? Believe it or not, if you leave, you destroy everything our species worked for. You may not have faith in us, but I do. I believe we can fight and win this war! Hell, we already crippled the Fallen and Hive on Earth! What's next? Venus? Mars? The Moon?! All the opportunities are laid out before us and you're willing to throw it away. And unlike you, I'm sure there are no flaws here. Just fighting. That's what guardians do." Jalaal is speechless. The Dead Orbit supporters however, will not let up.

Alec aims his gun at Jalaal's head, bellowing "Which of you would pick up a gun and defend Jalaal to the death?" The audience goes silent. "Go on. Show of hands, who's willing to fight for Arach Jalaal's life?" Every hand in the room is raised. "Why aren't you fighting the Fallen, then? The Hive? Vex, Cabal? Why aren't you fighting your collective enemy to defend your neighbor?" No one speaks. Complete and utter silence. "My point stands."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Jalaal's been apprehended and put on trial," Chloe says, inside Alec's apartment. She and Titus are sitting on the couch, with Alec preparing chocolate soufflés in the kitchen. "Dead Orbit has been grounded and is receiving less funding from the Crucible, Vanguard and Consensus. They are restricted to engineering duty for the City, also. However, Jalaal will not be held accountable for his crimes, considering Dead Orbit's hold on the economy of the City. Brief from the Vanguard." Alec finishes up on the food and walks over to the two.

"What's next?" Alec asks, handing Chloe a soufflé.

"Future War Cult is gunning for a fight," Titus says. "New Monarchy is screaming war and everyone is tensing up. The Vanguard is tracking their movements and we find they're fighting for the same area. Soon, an actual fight is going to break out. The location of the fight is the issue. And it's a massive problem."

"What is it?" Alec and Chloe ask in chorus.

"The Colony Ship."

* * *

 **Did you know that Influenza killed more people ever killed by HIV EVER in 1918 and 1919? Now you know.**


	17. Act 1: Chapter 17: Lagging Behind

**And thus with the Thanksgiving feast over with, everyone begins to hang up the Christmas decorations. And the band begins to play Christmas music. "Come on the snow is falling and friends are calling 'You Who!' Come on, its perfect weather for a sleigh ride together with you!" Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its ideas, characters, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Lagging Behind

Alec, Titus and Chloe were about to blast off for the Colony Ship when Cayde-6 called. Alec found the timing disturbing. The Colony Ship is massive, with many supplies and weapons to wipe out an entire nation. If there was a time to take action, it was now. Immediately after disarming Dead Orbit. Titus seemed to agree, rather annoyed with Cayde for the timing. The Vanguard asked for them to talk in the Tower Courtyard, in front of the Bazaar, overlooking the City and Traveler. Cayde was there, looking up into the sky. The tiny dot in orbit where the ship should be. "Time's not on our side, Cayde," Titus says. "We need to…"

"You're right, it isn't," Cayde interjects, looking at the three. "We're too late." The grim tone in his voice confirmed this. Alec's heart stopped beating. They're too late? How? They only took a few thirty minutes to restock and now they're about to go. That's more than enough time for a guardian time to secure the ship. And one step further, not nearly enough time to assemble an army to take the ship. Either by force or infiltration. "Come, walk with me." Cayde follows up in an unnervingly cheery voice. He heads for the North Section of the Tower. Alec, Titus and Chloe follow not that far behind.

"How could they secure the ship that fast?" Alec says, speaking before Titus could remark more or less the same. Cayde turns and summons his Ghost, making it hover around the group.

"Yes well, remember the team I sent to secure a foothold in the ship immediately after you left," Cayde asks, continuing only when the three nod at the question. "Nasty people. Strong, fast, steady aim, _titans_ -" Cayde winked at Titus, implying the statement is a joke. Titus twitched slightly in return. "Well, twenty minutes after, they were hit. One of the frames on the ship recorded this before the Ship went dark. Ghost?" The ghost plays recorded footage as they walk down the hall. The point of view of a frame is displayed. There is gunfire all around, chaos at every step. The frame holds a pulse rifle holding and firing to a guardian before getting mowed down. A guardian in red and white armor. The five second footage plays four times in succession before the Ghost stops playing it.

"New Monarchy?" Chloe asks. Cayde responds by humming 'mm hm'.

"They arrived practically immediately after the security team arrived," Cayde says. "Which means, they knew about the capture the whole time and are working to capture the entirety of the ship. The problem is that Future War Cult responded rather fast. And now, there is a battle going on in orbit. That's why we're going to the New Monarchy hidey-hole. To find the ballistics on ground and find a way to end the battle favorably." They surround the large, covered campfire in the tower, supported under the large red and white canopy. Cayde sits around the fire and Alec, Titus and Choe join him.

"How bad is the battle upstairs?" Titus asks. Cayde's ghost projects another hologram. It's the Colony Ship. The top three spheres are gone and the space shuttles attached to the side are gone too. Surrounding the ship and ships flying everywhere, bullets flying everywhere and explosions happening both on the ship and in Space. It's humanity at war. And it's horrifying to Alec.

"That's live footage, by the way," Cayde says. "A scout in orbit is recording that as we speak. He says the battle started…" Cayde makes a 'tch' sound three times while staring at an invisible watch on his wrist. "Ten minutes ago. Going up there is a death trap." Alec stares at the battle going on in Space, right above their heads.

"What happens if either side wins?" Chloe asks.

"New Monarchy, they have a new Base of Operations, true, but now they have a bigger range and co-ordination," Cayde says. "Which means, large scale war. Remember, the New Monarchy's goal is to become the main government of humanity. They don't exactly want the Vanguard to stick around. And if Future War Cult wins, there will be aerial bombardment positioned straight at New Monarchy. It's a weapon of mass destruction hanging in orbit. Either way, we lose. So, we need to find a way to fix this mess before that…" Cayde points at the live footage of the war. "Decresindos."

"So, how do we fix this?" Titus asks. Cayde grins deviously.

"The entire weaponry that is on that ship and the newly appointed weaponry given to us stems from one place: Rasputin," Cayde says. "And our AI friend knows this. So, he made a deal with us. He'll help us stop the war, and we're going to do it by using his weapons." He suspends his ghost and winks at it. The ghost hovers in the air, searching for something. "They have his missiles here somewhere," Cayde says. "Special missiles, doomsday missiles. They create a massive explosion in the air that can eviscerate just about everything they come across. And once the harbingers of death are done carving through the people outside and the damage is done structurally, the ship is no longer an asset of war. Sound like a plan?" The trio nods. "Well, then! Go! Find a terminal and shout at my ghost when you do! Hurry! Fate of humanity and all that!"

Everyone got to work, checking everything under the Canopy. There was not much: a set of dusty bookshelves, maps, tablets, scrolls and even and armory rack. Nothing that seems to be there was suspicious. Alec was busy on the tablets, skimming through the data files. Only things on the primary goal of New Monarchy, guardian profiles and weapon shipments from the Nine from an agent named Xûr. Nothing. Alec looks to the right of him to see the bookshelves and begins skimming through it. In his peripherals, he sees Chloe searching through the pads. "There's nothing there." Alec calls out over his shoulder. Chloe slams the tablet she was holding down in frustration.

"It's not here!" She yells out. Alec steps back and stares up at the flag of New Monarchy: a triangle with three horizontal lines, parallel to one another. He takes a deep breath, thinking about all he read about New Monarchy. The group's ultimate goal is to unite the species together under one banner and create something new from that banner. He remembers there being seven monikers, but he can't remember what exactly they are.

"What are the seven tenants again, Chloe?" Alec asks. Chloe recites them, seemingly by heart.

"Secure the walls from the enemies without, secure the rights and liberties of every citizen, sponsor the sciences of the City, support the Guardians through technological innovation, support and protect the harmony of the City, have high standards and abolish the Consensus. Why?" The tablets held nothing, there were no available terminals. He had to think. There's a common theme of the monikers. Growth. Growing the City and guardian forces until they eventually are strong enough to take over. He skimmed over the books again and found it. The most obvious solution: An old dusty copy of the Grimoire.

Alec pulled it out. The cover is dusty, the leather dry and the warming smell of ink filling Alec's nostrils. "Hades, scan the book." Alec says. Hades appears and shoots out a beam though its eye, analyzing the book.

"The book appears to have a form of bookmark in the center." Hades says. Alec opens it, dust flying still everywhere. In the center is a small card, with the symbol of New Monarchy and the text in gold below ' _RSPN_ '. "Found a card. But where does it go?" Hades says. Alec looks around and then runs over to the tablets. He picks one up and looks at the bottom. There appears to be a small slot. He inserts the card and the screen turns black hosting the familiar logo of Rasputin: the diamond with wings.

"There we go!" Alec says, optimistic. He looks at the screen. Three options listed from top to bottom:

 _Открытая дверь_ _  
_ _Приготовьте оружие_

 _Отчет_

Alec grunts. He isn't exactly fluent in Russian. "Hades, help me out here." Hades hovers and analyses the screen.

"Tap the first one!" Hades says. Alec does as told and a trapdoor opens next to the campfire. Everyone gathers around it and Cayde claps.

"Good work," the Vanguard says. "Rasputin, what do you think?" The text on the panel reads ' _Ошибка: Соединение не достигнуто. Я советую продолжает дальше. Я буду пытаться установить контакт с Ragnarok оружия класса_ _._ ' Alec could only really take it as a 'good work.' They climbed down the ladder attached to the trapdoor. It took a good minute to reach the bottom, and when they did, they found a dark silver tunnel, only illuminated by blue neon lights. Cayde summons his ghost, the hologram of the space battle looking dimmer. There are fewer ships fighting in the space around it and there are explosions taking up the ship. "That was fast," Cayde says, sounding grim. "We need to hurry. The battle's already indoors." Hades appears in front of Alec, moving forward and scanning something on the wall. A screen.

"Where are we?" Alec asks, looking around. Titus looks around, thinking.

"Something for the Vanguard I presume," the Exo says. "I've never seen it in the Tower before." Cayde looks around, sighing.

"Yeah," he says. "Back when the City was being formed, they built this bunker in the Tower to act as a Wartime Hazard Shelter and Operations Center. Until the Vanguard Hall got set up, this was where the campaigns against the Fallen were held. We abandoned it after the failed skirmish on the Moon. Still functional, though." Just then, the screens blink to life and the symbol of Rasputin appears.

"Ya prinimayu aktivnoye uchastiye v tunnele. Ty ne mozhesh' ponyat' menya. Ya prisposobit. Derzhites' pozhaluysta." A deep, resonant voice calls out. Alec looks from side to side in the tunnel until text pops up on the screen in silver. 'Translation successful. Weapons port identified. Please proceed to your right.' Cayde laughs.

"As the computer says, then!" Cayde says, they sprint down the hall until they reach a center through the hall in about five minutes. The entire area was dimly lit by the blue neon and on the back wall was a multitude of screens which, Alec assumes, would have maps of the Cosmdrome and enemy statistics. Now, they have Rasputin's logo on each one. In front of the screens are rows of mahogany tables with dusty computers and chairs with cobwebs in them. "Rasputin, what's showing up on the space battle?" The screens switch to a satellite view of the battle overhead. There are no fighters and barely any commotion viewable outside of the Ship. Cayde swears. "We're too late." Alec sighs shakily. Humanity cannot lose like this. He refuses to accept this.

Alec approaches a computer and blows on the keyboard, wiping and blowing away the dust. He activates the computer, holding down the power button and getting the computers functional. He starts typing away, loading up a file called ' .' "Is there anything we can do from here?" Alec asks, looking up and down from the screen to the terminal starting to access Rasputin's weapon systems. Cayde shrugs.

"I doubt it," Cayde says, thinking. "Not much we can do except use the weapons." Alec clicks on the weapons tab that shows up in the terminal.

"Let's use the weapons then," Alec says. "What can we aim at without taking too many FWC and Monarchy lives? Anything? Come on!" Alec growls when there are no responses. Titus walks forward and looks at the Ship and Chloe looks at her feet. Cayde, though being a machine, looks as if he is about to vomit.

"But Cayde could take you in for destroying Guardians and their Ghosts." Chloe says, sweating bullets. Alec shakes the image of shards of ghost out of his head. Permanent death for a Guardian is about to ensue.

"We have no choice. We're saving humanity right now," Alec says, turning his head to Cayde. "You never saw this, right?"

"Never saw what?" Cayde asks, with a smug look on his face. Alec raises and drops his shoulders in the form of a laugh. He selects a number of missiles and begins to select a target out of orbit. He waits for areas to target. Titus is the one to speak.

"The engine nozzle at the bottom there," Titus says, analyzing the screen. "The sides of the main center. Basically, everywhere but the center. That should be enough to nullify the battle and bring the war back to land." Alec takes a deep breath and takes Titus's advice: he aims for everywhere but the center of the ship. The missiles are fired, two minutes are spent for them to get to their location and chaos ensues. Massive explosions occur, expanding around the ship. Debris of the ship goes everywhere and much of the remains are charred. Alec looks up, seeing the carnage and instantly regrets it. He turns away and takes a deep breath. He walks away, not looking back at the scene of carnage that he just caused. Anything for the cause of Humanity's survival. Alec shivered. He walked back out into the hall and lays his back against the wall.

His mind is swimming in the thoughts of the thousands of lives lost in what _he_ just did. He drowns in the ideas, cold sweat dripping down his cheeks. Color draining from his face. Chloe approaches him and takes his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asks.

"Yeah." Alec lies. It was a rather feeble lie, too. His voice is shaky, his legs are trembling and his eyes give away everything. Obviously, the lie did not slip past Chloe. Her eyes turn firm.

"Stop lying," Chloe says, in a comforting yet firm voice. "I get it. Are you okay though?" Alec shakes his head hard. His breathing slows a bit, and he focuses on something else other than the lives lost on the Ship. "I get it. Killing Fallen is different from killing humans. It's a thing that has to be done from time to time." Alec nods, saying he understands. The group walks away and Alec takes a deep breath. A necessity. That's what it is. A necessity.

* * *

 **I saw 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them' and I LOVED IT! Hufflepuffs are the best! Newt's a Hufflepuff! I'm a Hufflepuff myself!** **And Wizarding in America is such a cool concept! Ilvermorny, hmm? I wonder….**


	18. Act 1: Chapter 18: Civil Unrest

**Hey guys! So, last chapter kind of ended on a bad note. BUT, this chapter should not get so philosophical about the nature of humanity and self-preservation and blah, blah, blah. It should be fairly exciting. Also, sorry for the long times it takes to upload chapters. They do take a while because of my schedule and that I want them to be quality. So, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

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ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Civil Unrest

"So, here's the deal," Cayde says to the team while they are standing around in the complex. "New Monarchy and the War Cult aren't going to have the shuttle in the sky until we know what to do with it. So, they're settling on ground. Specifically, attrition. They want to take over each other's territory, and our sources say that the War Cult is going to strike first and strike hard." Alec looks around and scans for any red and white or purple and orange armor. If anyone is going to stop them, it's going to be one of them. Nothing is going to get in the way of the war. Titus speaks, doing the same as Alec while doing so.

"Obviously," he says. "Lakishmi isn't prone to peaceful and simple attacks. She naturally wants to strong arm her enemy when war starts…"

"War hasn't started yet." Alec says, controlling his breathing. He knows Titus is more experienced with this kind of stuff, but they have to stay optimistic. Titus, surprisingly, does not seem to mind. Chloe, however, finds it rather informal and not very smart. "I get where Titus is coming from. What makes this intel special?" Alec asks. If Lakishmi, Future War Cult's commander, is prone to fighting this way, they would not need to worry about strategy. What makes this situation so fragile? Cayde's response was simple and terrifying.

"They want to attack an area in the Tower. New Monarchy territory." The exo responds. Titus, Alec and Chloe look at one another, thinking and exchanging plans through only looks. Eventually they settle on jogging to the North Tower, trying not to look too suspicious but still moving with urgency. "The Cult were spotted just a minute ago, and an interception team was sent to keep them at bay. Get to the Monarchy, I'll keep in touch." They attempt to get down the hall, but when they get to the entrance to the area, a bulkhead was in place. Steel, partially rusted, and not moving anywhere.

"Cayde, Monarchy shut away the North Tower." Titus says.

"Yeah, that's the Monarchy," Cayde replies, sounding uncharacteristically stressed. "They must have tapped into the Guardian voice comms. Find a way in, the Cult is pushing hard." Alec motions with his hand to follow him. They go back into the plaza and overlook the districts in the City. All the way down below, they can see fires and small explosions and it is dangerously close. Alec heads up the stairs on the outside of the North Tower Building and they jump from awning to awning until they get to the outside of the North Tower. They get inside the spherical room of the giant mechanism the Speaker works on and crosses the room, getting inside of the North Tower plaza. The Monarchy is running around, preparing for war. Alec takes his rifle and shoots it into the air, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"Future War Cult is coming," Alec says. "Everyone needs to evacuate the Tower. Go. GO!" The Monarchy runs to a hallway in the plaza, evacuating the area.

"Listen," Cayde says. "We couldn't hold them off, they're too big. Too powerful. You'd better have good news. They're coming."

"Monarchy is evacuating the building," Alec says. "We'll get the Cult to back down, don't worry." Alec turns toward the warhead and takes a deep breath.

"So, what's your plan," Chloe asks, turning toward Alec. "Cult is huge. They're coming to kill us. Do you have a plan, because we can't fight them on our own." Alec takes the magazine out of his rifle and stores it in his knapsack. He turns to Chloe and grins, trying to remain coy. In reality, he's not sure the plan will work.

"Um," Alec says, placing his gun on the floor. "We surrender." Chloe looks at Alec, flabbergasted. Titus looks a little bit concerned.

"Are you insane?!" Chloe yells, looking and sounding like he's about to murder Alec.

"Um, yep," Alec says. "We can't fight them, so we have to communicate with them."

"We're not going to win," Chloe says. "We need to leave and…"

"Chloe," Titus says. "Have a little faith. Let's see how this plays out." Chloe looks like she wants to argue, but she doesn't. Instead, she and Titus put their guns on the ground and put their hands in the air. Chloe mumbles something about the plan better working and within minutes, a squad of Future War Cult comes in and points their weapons at the trio. A titan forces Alec to the floor and hits him in the face.

"ALEC!" Chloe yells. Alec hears a slapping sound and Chloe grunting as she hits the floor. This is followed by an electric zapping and Titus shorting out. "Get your hands off of me!" Chloe yells at the squad holding her down to the floor. Alec moves his head however he can and looks at the screaming and kicking Chloe, giving her a look that reads " _don't even try_." Chloe makes eye contact and shuts up, not making any resistance. The two are picked up and kept on their knees, still at gunpoint. Alec sees Titus on the floor, sizzling and steaming. A female exo strides in the room, wearing a purple and orange dress with a pink scarf around her neck. Her face has thin four inch horns protruding from her forehead and ears and pink markings on her face. Her eyes are cyan and she emits an aura of gracefulness, yet intimidation.

"Where is the New Monarchy?" She says in an articulate and cloudy voice. Alec recognized her immediately. Lakshmi-2, the Future War Cult representative.

"No idea," Alec says. "All I know is that they're gone. Who the hell are you?" Chloe looks at Alec, her face pale. Not in the angry, frustrated way she usually does. She looks scared. Lakshmi narrows her eyes. It's difficult to read her face. Alec stays stalwart, not shaken.

"I feel you know who I am," Lakshmi says. "What are you doing here? Why did you evacuate the building of New Monarchy?"

"To keep you idiots from tearing the Tower apart." Alec says.

"Alec…" Chloe says, wanting to say something to get them out of the situation. Lakshmi holds up her hand, calling for silence. Chloe obeys. She fears Lakshmi for some reason. Alec does not.

"You have nothing I need," Lakshmi says, trying to be intimidating. "Kill them. We'll find New Monarchy on our own." Alec and Chloe are forced to their feet, the people holding them at gunpoint aiming carefully. Alec, thinking quickly, slips his feet out from under him, tripping himself and the guardian holding him. With the guardian stumbling, Alec grabs his arm and flips him over his shoulder and onto the floor. Alec surveys the situation he got himself into. That's one out of seven. Another was holding him, but he let go and another two were going to shoot him. Another three were doing the same for Chloe. Alec reaches up and grabs the next guardian, swinging her around and shielding himself from the gunfire that followed. He summons his and Golden Gun and shoots at another three surrounding them. Four out of seven. He snaps the guardian he is holding's neck and throws her into the next guardian, toppling them. The last guardian, aiming his gun still, shaking, is killed by Alec's throwing knife. Alec stands tall, staring at Lakshmi, who seems unfazed at what just happened. Lakshmi is slightly taller than Alec, by an inch or so.

"Your confidence is stifling," She says. "You killed an archon, yes? The entire City is flying your flag." Alec helps Chloe to her feet and they just stare at the exo, just standing there.

"I try." Alec says blankly.

"You do more than try," Lakshmi says. "You fight the Fallen, you helped bring the House of Devils to their knees and you helped stagger the Fallen on Earth. God knows we needed that, after that God-forsaken moon fiasco. You want the best for humanity, and you are willing to fight everything that stands in the way of our freedom. You share our cause, so why are you fighting us now?" Alec approaches Lakshmi, getting within appropriate distance and making solid eye contact.

"I believe humanity has gone too far to fall from a civil war," Alec says. "You go to war with the New Monarchy, you destroy everything we hold dear. Rasputin's weaponry is not something to toy around with, Lakshmi. So, if you are going to hold a gun, you should make sure you point it at the Fallen. Or Hive. Not your allies, the people who are living in and trying to defend this city." Lakshmi stares into Alec's eyes, expressionless. Eventually, she settles on a conclusion.

"I believe you are correct, my friend," She says. "This will not happen again. You fight for a noble cause. Perhaps you will join us some day."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"As it stands, the Future War Cult and New Monarchy are no longer hostile," Commander Zavala says. The trio are sitting in the Vanguard Hall. "They are agreeing to co-operate and helping settle conflicts on Earth and within the City. We are continuing to make strides across Earth and our campaign has led to us to have a solid foothold in the Cosmodrome."

"With the Vanguard, Future War Cult and New Monarchy becoming more active as a selective unit, we can divert our focuses," Ikora says, grinning to herself. "The Hidden Swarm is being commanded from the Moon, and more forces are predicted to be coming. It is time we campaign on the Moon once again. We will prepare a campaign, and you three will be the spearhead. You have done well, guardians."

"Thank you, Ikora." Chloe says, sounding amazed. After the meeting is adjourned, Cayde calls Alec to him.

"So, New Monarchy has taken control of the ship in orbit," Cayde says. "They call it Camelot, and it's going to be the Vanguard's FOB in the Moon Campaign. Both Executor Hideo and Lakshmi want to meet you up there, probably to get you on their side. For some reason, Jalaal doesn't want anything to do with you. Can't imagine why!" The two laugh and Alec sighs. It's finished. All that's done now is to visit the new FOB, Camelot, and to see what Hideo and Lakshmi want. 'Let's get it done.'

* * *

 **Hello! Absolutely nothing to say! Did you have a good day? Good!**


	19. Act 1: Chapter 19: Camelot

**Hey guys! So, I'm getting the plot of this story up and running! Don't worry, Destiny is about to get a lot faster paced. And for your questions, yes. I'm going to do a story line for The Dark Below, The House of Wolves, a little variation of the Taken King (because let's face, Taken King IS Destiny) and I will be heavily modifying Rise of Iron. So, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT I: Fallen

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Camelot

Alec, Titus and Chloe's ships approached the massive station in the sky that is now New Monarchy's Camelot. The Colony Ship, now lacking its fuel nozzles and tanks, is being heavily modified in red and white colors and being built more and more stations attached to it. Alec could see the New Monarchy ships and Vanguard workers welding steel together and removing areas of the ship. The now massive rod in the orbit of Earth-right in between the planet and the Moon-has the scorched fuel nozzles removed and the rivets used to make them turned into ship docks, as well as the bottom of the ship. The trio approached the ship, docking in an area on the south of the station and head through the oxygen lacking hall way into the station. Taking off their helmets in the now air tight environment, they look down at the flourishing station and see Vanguard, New Monarchy and FWC working together to get the supplies needed from place to place.

In a circular shape, the station seemed less sterile than it used to with it under going construction. With four doors protruding from the north, south, east and west, there were platforms and staircases leading from layer to layer on different discs on the station with a hollow center. Two guardians approached the three from the stairs on the left. One is an exo with the build of a titan. The exo's metal tint was chrome in color, its eyes a rich yellow. It has a sleek design without any rough edges leading from the forehead to the cheeks and the chin. The chin "muscle" had a heptagonal shape and connected and folded underneath the cheek "muscles." He looked newer and cleaner than other exos that Alec had met, compared to Titus or his descriptions of Saint-14. He is about as tall as Titus with about as stocky of a build. He stood with a straight back and his chin up, confident and the type of person who if you dared him to do something impossible, he would go anyway and somehow succeed. His armor is just as sleek and clean as his face, with each red and white piece connecting to the other completely symmetrically. The mark on his hip had hexagons, all of them connecting with one another. Each of them in a pattern of red and white.

The other, an awoken, as the body of a hunter. She is slightly shorter than Alec, but taller than Chloe. Her skin is a light blue-green color, her eyes and lips a dark shade of purple. The longer Alec studied her eyes, the more he wanted to look at them. They were playful and flirty. And her hair is jet black, parted to the left that intelligently flows down the side and back of her face. She kept her hood up, giving her eyes that much more of an impact, and her hood was the color of a deep and rich amethyst that flowed down to her thighs. Her suit clung to her body, tugging at her curves and showing off her bust. This hunter is beautiful, and from the look of her eyes and the way she wore her guardian uniform, Alec knew that this awoken knew it too.

"You must be Alec," The exo said in a friendly and slightly sly manner. "This is Chloe then. And the legendary Titus-6. It's an honor to have this legendary strike team among us." Titus shifted uncomfortably. Chloe smiled slightly, keeping her arms crossed. "I'm Damascus-5, a soldier in the New Monarchy. This is my partner, Ava Kuebrick." Alec shakes Damascus's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Alec says, nodding at them.

"The pleasure is all mine." Ava says, throwing a playful glance at Alec. Alec got a brief flashback of Artemis and looked behind him slightly to see Chloe glaring daggers at the young hunter. Damascus laughed, shaking his head.

"She always does this, don't worry," Damascus says, Alec catching Ava wink at him. "Right then! If you two would kindly help out with our armory, it would be much appreciated." Titus nods and, after getting elbowed in the side by her exo partner, so does Chloe. "Great! Ava, if you would show them to the armory! I need to have a word with Alec here and then show him to the Executor." Ava nods and wordlessly escorts Titus and Chloe away from Damascus and Alec. Alec felt a small nudge on his shoulder as she passed, but didn't pay any attention to it. After they left, Damascus laughed lightly. "Ava's a shameless flirt. I hope you don't mind that. That's just how she rolls. Frankly, I don't blame her. Everyone is a fan of the Hunter Alec Fields now. Women want him, men want to be him, all that sort of stuff. Don't say I blame them, eh? Hehehe." Damascus relaxes against the railing and Alec looks over to see Ava, Titus and Chloe walking to the armory. Ava is talking animatedly, Chloe is being reserved and Titus is being stoic and rigid. Alec shakes his head.

"That's funny," He says, looking at the exo. "I don't recall doing anything to deserve that."

"You damn well did," Damascus replies. "You killed an archon, prevented a civil war, beat Artemis is the Crucible, discovered Rasputin, killed Sepiks Prime…"

"Titus actually did that last one," Alec says. "I was just there for the ride."

"Still," Damascus says, shaking his head. "Don't be surprised when you get a billion pieces of fan mail from the Dawning." Damascus stands back up, straightening his metaphorical spine. He claps his hands and rubs them together. "Back on topic! The Vanguard wants to spear head the Campaign on the Moon. You've done so much, they have faith in you. That's why you're being appointed as one of the leaders of the campaign as well as me and the Vanguard." Alec stands up straight after this. He stares Damascus in the eyes with shock.

"What?! Why me," Alec asks, on the verge of yelling. "Why not Lakshmi or Hideo?"

"The Vanguard are giving us ops and we're commanding them," Damascus explains, narrowing his eyes. "The Executor and Lakshmi are going to be here running the supplies and all that. You deserve this position."

"I as hell do not," Alec laughs, motioning toward the station. "I'm not a leader! I lead, people tend to die! We all know how that fiasco on the Moon turned last time with better leaders that me! Shit, do you even expect us to come back from this alive?" Damascus stares Alec in the eyes solemnly, not answering. "Answer me! And be honest!"

"No," Damascus says, suddenly interested in his feet. "No. I don't. People are going to die, a lot of them. That's a given when going up against the Hive." Damascus looks back up into Alec's eyes and grabs his shoulder. "But I'm here too, Alec. I'll feel that weight, share it with you. And we're much wiser than we were before. You have to have faith." Alec looks at Damascus, angrily accepting that this campaign is going to happen like it or not.

"Fine," Alec says through his teeth. "What's Camelot for if there are personnel staying up here anyways?" Damascus removes his hands and looks over the station.

"This is our 'Base of Operations for interplanetary campaigns funded by the Vanguard and spearheaded by our best soldiers, scouts, and intelligence'," Damascus says, putting on an Ikora impression. "That's what the Vanguard say. This is the place that's keeping the Operation alive. Setting up supply lines, R&D, air support, intelligence, all of that. We're setting up an FOB on the Moon, however. For that, we need a beach head. And the Executor is trying to find us one with whatever help Rasputin will give us."

"And Camelot is going to grow?" Alec asked. Damascus nods.

"Exponentially," Damascus says. "We'll have wings dedicated to all kinds of things. R&D, Docking, Planetary Operations, Intelligence, Armories, Barracks…"

"All up here?" Alec asks, rather impressed.

"Yes," Damascus says, excitedly. "Alec, you need to understand that we only have one Tower. Having this up in orbit will give us an advantage when out into the field."

"Then why do we need an FOB on the Moon?"

"That's the issue. The Hive aren't like the Vex, or Fallen, or Cabal. The Fallen are scattered, and the Vex are fighting with the Fallen and Cabal for the other planets. The Hive have the entirety of the Moon to themselves. It's going to be like trying to get an ant through a bee hive. It's practically impossible without an FOB to run operations on the Moon." Alec nods, understanding.

"What does Ava do?"

"Oh, she's just going to be an operative on the field. She's going to be one of our scouts. Checking out our Op Areas, determining the strength of the enemy, reporting back to us, and patrolling the areas to make sure that not every expedition on the Moon is a suicide mission. The only time we'll ever have her on one of the important missions is when we need all hands on deck. It's interesting stuff, you should talk to her about it some time." Alec raises an eyebrow. "Or not. It's up to you. I get it, she's can be a little bit…persuasive. But she's fine once you get to know her."

"Persuasive?"

Damascus rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, you're going to have to ask her about that yourself." Alec rolls his eyes.

"Duly noted," He says. "Didn't you say Hideo wanted to see me?" Damascus perks up like he just remembered it.

"Oh! Right," The exo says, turning toward the stairs. "We should get on that! Follow me!" Alec follows Damascus three layers down and through a door to the west side of the main interior. Inside the door is a homely office with a large curved desk, a bookcase and a banner with the New Monarchy on both sides of the room. Sitting around the desk is Lakshmi and a new character who Alec assumed to be Executor Hideo. A man with Asian descent as highlighted by his eye shape and tan face, Alec could this well. His eyes are sharp and commanding, highlighted by the no nonsense brown tint they have. His head is covered by red head ware with cloth running down the sides of his head and back of his neck with a gold interior. He wears red robes with a white sash around his torso, engraved with the New Monarchy symbol.

"Hideo, we need to focus our attention on the Fallen surrounding the area," Lakshmi shouts, standing up with her face inches away from the executor, who is on the other side of the table. "You are only putting lives at risk!" Alec could hear the shouting before they entered the room.

"You do not get the big picture, the FOB area only has a few Fallen in it," Hideo responds. "Our operatives can handle the ground. We need to focus on keeping Camelot operational. Without it, our Operation fails."

"Haven't you got enough people working on Camelot," Lakshmi yells. "This isn't about New Monarchy's base! This is about winning the Moon from the Hive! The future of humanity could possibly lie in this one strike!"

"I am worried about our future, Lakshmi," Hideo growls. "If you want this op to be a success, you need to get off my back and let me work." Damascus makes a sound akin to clearing his throat and stands at salute. Hideo and Lakshmi turn to Alec and the exo. "The guardian is here," Hideo says, sounding far and away more jovial than the conversation he and Lakshmi were having. "It's a pleasure to have you on. Welcome to Camelot."

"What are you talking about?" Alec asks, straight to the point.

"Alec!" Damascus says, as if the hunter just offended a god. Hideo waves it off.

"Now now, Damascus," The executor says. "He's a commander in this campaign. He deserves to have a say in this, as do you."

"Yes, Executor." Damascus says, getting at ease. Alec approaches the two, getting on the left of them. Damascus takes his place opposite of Alec. "We were talking of our FOB. You can take a beach head at a nearby particle accelerator and then charge it straight to the area of interest, an Ocean of Storms Science Colony. Simple enough."

"Sounds solid enough," Damascus says, looking at Hideo. "What's the argument about?" Lakshmi scoffs.

"The Ocean of Storms is crawling with Fallen. Pockets here and there, but still a massive number," She says. "They're all united under a single banner. The House of Exile, as the Vanguard have dubbed it. To capture the accelerator and then try to capture the FOB would be suicide. Every Fallen in the area would respond and head to the FOB to try and kill the team of guardians. It would be just as bad as Six Fronts." Alec remembers reading about Six Fronts, and Titus telling him stories. A single, entire house attacking one area is nothing to sneeze at. The difference is that a massive number of Titans were there to defend the City at Six Fronts. The campaign at the Moon would only have a large fireteam.

"The guardians are skilled enough to repel them, let it be," Hideo says. "We need to work on Camelot anyways." Before Lakshmi could respond, Alec spoke for her.

"No," Alec says, looking Hideo in the eyes. "We're talking an entire Fallen House in one area with one fireteam. This campaign is important, we can't afford to risk any lives. It would be safer to establish independent beach heads where the pockets are and work our way toward the FOB. I'm standing with Lakshmi on this one." Lakshmi stands up straight and crosses her arms, as if she just won a bet. Hideo glares daggers at Alec.

"Unbelievable," Hideo says. "Do you know how important this base is?"

"Yes," Alec says. "I don't think you understand how important boots on the Moon are though, Executor. If we're going to do this, we need to keep everyone alive. Camelot comes second. No exceptions." Hideo just glares at Lakshmi for a few seconds, wondering and then speaks in a growl.

"Fine," the executor growls. "We do it your way, Lakshmi. Damascus, you're dismissed." Damascus nods and walks out of the office, slightly shaking his head. "You have an eye for this, Guardian. You would be useful in the New Monarchy."

"Quite frankly, Executor," Alec says, tossing his head to the side. "If you think that little of our lives, I don't want to be in the New Monarchy." Hideo turns his head back forward, glaring into empty space. Alec turns to Lakshmi and says, "You're right. You know the only way out of this is to fight. And you have your guns pointing toward the right people. If the Future War Cult ever needs me, I'll be there." Lakshmi looks at Alec with a slight grin.

"Thank you, guardian." Lakshmi says, like a mother. Hideo sneers.

"Yes," Hideo says. "Thank you. You are dismissed, guardian. When the time comes, I'll expect those boots to be hitting the ground."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

With nothing else he can think of, Alec decided to follow Damascus's advice and look for Ava. Alec found her near the bottom of the station, commanding the loading of the armory. Titus and Chloe were nowhere to be found, and Ava instantly recognized him. She took down the hood of her cloak, revealing the top of her head and her eyes in spectacular detail. She placed her hands on her hips, relaxing and forcing one out to the side. She tilts her head with a quiet smile on her face, her eyes alive and sparking with energy. Alec's shoulders raised and fell at the gesture. "Ava," He said, looking around. "What's going on here?" Ava looked around like she forgot where she was.

"Oh, that? That's the Vanguard protocol of stocking up on weapons," Ava says, acting naive. "It's needed so our troops can, you know, stay alive. Personally, I like a light loadout. Keeps the experience… _fun_." At the last word, Ava forced her shoulders back, with the slight motion of her licking her bottom lip. Alec grinned. ' _You're trying too hard, pal,_ ' He says to himself. ' _It's never going to be a normal conversation with you, is it? I'm not complaining._ '

"Isn't that a little counter-intuitive to your job as a guardian," Alec says. "Damascus said you were a scout." Ava laughs flirtatiously, throwing her head back and slinking her arms around Alec's neck. Alec didn't necessarily like that Ava was being so obnoxiously flirty-it wasn't really a bad thing either-but it seemed a little ridiculous that everything she did was so deliberate. It's like she was making it as clear as possible that she was interested. It made Alec wonder what would happen if he played dumb.

"Oh, that's why I go out there barely equipped," Ava says, getting on her tip toes to make sure she gets as close to his face as possible. "That many enemies with such little ammo? It makes the experience… _thrilling._ " Alec is aware that at this point, Ava is pounding him over the head with how obvious the act is. ' _Let's play dumb._ '

"I prefer a less risky approach," Alec says, butting foreheads with her to force her head back. "I don't like to make fighting for my life a joy ride." Ava tilts her head, biting her lip. Her face suggests disappointment. Her eyes suggest playfulness. Alec wasn't sure which one he liked more. Ava's hands slinked from Alec's neck to his arms, tracing over his muscles through the armor.

"I can't imagine," Ava says. "You look so tough. And formidable. Something strong for someone to hang on to." Ava looks up into the hunter's eyes. Alec decided to shut it down.

"Yeah, well, that's what armor is for." Ava slinks away and stops her advances.

"Well, I can't say I didn't try," Ava said. "Speaking of weapons, someone left you a gun for the Dawning. Said they weren't sure if you were coming back, that they were going to fight on the Moon with you. I said that they just missed you and they just gave me the box. Someone, I think, named Alisha?" Alec's ears perked up. Artemis is participating in the Campaign on the Moon? Why? Didn't she say she was better off in the Crucible rather than on the field? And what's the gift she left for him.

"What is it?" Alec asked. Ava shrugged.

"I took it to my locker," Ava says. "You want to see it?" Alec grunts. He's had about enough of Ava's advances.

"Uh, yeah," Alec says. "Obviously. Take me to it." Ava leads Alec through another hallway into a series of lockers. She opens one up to see a rectangular purple box with a card taped to it. Ava gave the box to Alec, who took the long object in his arms and took the card from it. It read ' _To Alec, From Alisha_ ' and when he opened it, it said ' _It took a lot of hunting to find this. Hope you put it to good use. We'll compare kill counts when we get to the FOB. See you around. –Artemis_.' When he opened the box, he pulled out a sleek white assault rifle with a wiry stock and a sort of black musket blade on the end of the flat gun. Alec took the magazine and inserted it into its slot, right in front of the pistol grip. He pulled at the charging handle, examining the auto rifle. Ava seemed to admire it ten times more than Alec.

"That's the _Monte Carlo_ ," Ava said in awe. "Who the hell is your friend that can give you are rifle like that? Those things aren't easy to come by." Alec looked at her, grinning. He put the rifle on his back. He reminded himself to count the kills he got once they touched down on the Moon. "Who got you that rifle, Alec?" Ava pushed. Alec seemed rather surprised that Ava was so surprised at the rifle.

"Well, um," Alec said, shifting his eyes nervously. "Artemis Dawn." Ava looks at him with a puzzled expression on her face. Alec clears his throat, suddenly feeling small under Ava's gaze. "So, there's…stuff we need to attend to. So, erm…I should go." He tries to turn and walk away with his gift, but Ava moves and stays in his way.

"No, wait," Ava said, sounding rather commanding. "I want you to tell me why Artemis got you that. Do you know how valuable that is? Why in the name of the Traveler would someone go through the hassle of getting you that?"

"Christ, Ava, can a friend not give someone a gift?" Alec says, rolling his eyes.

"A friend? A friend that gets you a rifle that's worth enough glimmer to buy an entire planet," Ava says, acting rather aggressively. "That sounds like something someone who's a little bit more than a friend would do to be honest."

"Let it go, Ava," Alec growls, getting in Ava's face. "All I'm interested in is fighting for humanity's interest. Nothing more, nothing less. And yes: that applies to you too." Alec walks past Ava, intending to get out of the station. Ava grabs Alec's wrist and forces him into the locker. Alec tries to turn to escape, preparing to fight Ava. Instead, Alec finds Ava's lips crashing into his. Her lips tasted like peppermint, and Alec's forced his mouth shut. It lasted about a minute, Alec waiting through every excruciating second. Hating every bit of it. After, she steps back and glares at him, smirking. Alec felt like slugging Ava right in the face, wiping that grin off of her face.

"What about now?" Ava had the nerve to ask. Alec had to keep every atom in his body under control to not punch her on the spot. Instead, he breathed and tried as calmly as possible to respond.

"At least Artemis knew when to back away," Alec said through gritted teeth. "I don't care if you ever get a remote chance of being reciprocated in that way. _Never_ do that again. I'll be on my way." Alec turns on his heel and leaves the station. Ava didn't try to stop him.

* * *

 **If Alec seemed like a shallow prick for a second there, that was the point. And if I offended anyone, CALM DOWN! JEEZ, ITS JUST A CHARACTER!**


	20. Act 2: Chapter 20: Hell Is Waiting

**HEY GUYS! GUESS WHAT? ACT TWO! WOO! Oooooookay! So, I don't own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy the chapter! ACT TWO!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY: Hell Is Waiting

"Dear God, this is happening," Alec says, both stressed and giddy with excitement. "Alright, Fireteam Archon reporting in." A really big fireteam is in orbit in the moon. Five separate fireteams each, each team with three soldiers. Plus another twenty scout teams already on the moon that scouted out each separate beach head. Fireteams Ahamkara, Rasputin, Golden Age and Warlord reported and launched the attack. Alec dropped his ship's engines, let the Moon's gravity pull him toward the surface, rotating the ship to account for the planetoid's hemisphere. Alec triple check his suit. Oxygen tanks are sealed and working, heating fabrics are efficiently working, suit is properly smoothed, and gravity modifiers are working well.

Alec's team, consisting of Chloe and a FWC Defender Titan, are to capture a Particle Accelerator and then meet up with a Vanguard Scout team-which the squad commander is Ava unfortunately-to escort them through a chosen path to get to the chosen FOB site. The ships cut through the thin atmosphere and fly through the area. Once they get to the LZ, a cliff near the building connecting to the accelerator, they transmat onto the ground. Alec takes in his surroundings, seeing the dull dark grey rock on the floor emanating dust as well as a few cracks in the ground producing a sickly green gas. The building nearby is an old iron color, with Chinese markings all around it with some dull orange on the roof. There is a supply platform connecting it to the building for, Alec guessed, resupplies on the moon. The accelerator was black, suspended by bars and went on for miles.

Alec looked behind him into the night sky. Stars and satellites twinkling here and there, with a tiny red dot in the distance and the blue ball that is Earth silently rotating. The complete silence was broken by Chloe's speech. "This is Archon, we've touched down," she says. "Will report when ready for assault. Out." She turns to Alec. "Have we got a plan?"

"Depends," Alec says, summoning Hades. "Hades, run a SIGINT scan." Hades spins his shell around until he makes a series of beeping noises and turns back toward Alec.

"There isn't any movement inside the Accelerator Building," the ghost says. "There are pockets of Fallen nearby, but they do not seem to be moving."

"Could be an ambush," the titan says. "Did they know we were coming?"

"House of Exile has been out of contact for centuries," Chloe says. "They had no idea we were coming. There must be salvage nearby, then."

"If that's the case, they definantly saw us coming from orbit," Alec says, pulling out his new rifle. "Let's capture that accelerator before they decide to investigate." The three run forward up the hill and into the accelerator building. The lights do not work and there is dust everywhere. Hades, Tiber and the titan's ghost provide a flashlight in the room. They head down the dust infected room, with old computer equipment in the center of the devastated room.

"Dead God," Tiber says, and the fireteam turns toward her. "There are still bodies." Alec looks where Chloe's ghost is and sees astronauts in orange uniforms on the ground in piles. Alec can see the skulls through their helmets.

"It seems to be secure," Alec says, turning on the radio. "Archon to Scout Teams. Beach-Head Unit One secure. Requesting scout escort."

"Scout to Archon," Ava's voice calls over the radio. "SIGINT isn't picking up your co-ordinates. You're in a dark zone. Please do something to let us know where you are." Alec is frustrated that Ava didn't know where, they are but it made sense. The closest scout team can go to the area quickly and be ready to go on the double. Alec turned to the fireteam. The titan was the first to suggest anything.

"Flares?" he asks. Chloe shakes her head.

"Every Fallen within a hundred miles will know where we are," Alec says. "Chloe, what about the particle accelerator? Can we turn it on?"

"Depends," Chloe responds. "What do our ghosts think?" Hades and Tiber head over to the computer terminal, and begin firing blue beams. Soon, the computer comes back on. Then the lights. Then a loud starting system activates.

"Shit," Alec says, looking around. "This is a problem."

"Scout to Archon," Ava says over the radio. "We just got a massive electrical surge appear on our charts. That you?"

"Yes, unfortunately." Alec says.

"Copy," Ava responds. "Headed to your location. ETA five minutes."

"Hey, guys," Hades says. "Motion triggers just went off. There's a massive Fallen presence headed in our direction." Alec swears and pulls out his Monte Carlo, moving toward the exit. The surge was just as big as Alec thought it was. The House of Exile noticed, so now they're in for a big fight.

"You," Alec said, pointing at the titan. "Cover that entrance. Chloe, you and I shoot when they start coming. Positions! ASAP!" Everyone takes their positions and aims at the entrance. A few objects come flying through the entrance, sticking to the walls and the ground. The room then lights up in an explosion of lightning and flashing blue light. The strobing lights disorient Alec at first, and when he gains his senses, realizes light refracting all over the place. "STEALTH VANDALS," Alec yells. "FALL BACK!"

"I've got dregs and vandals about to flood us," the titan yells, firing his rifle into the distance with bullets coming right back at him. "We're about to get overwhelmed quickly!" Alec fires his rifle at whatever light refraction he can see, killing a few cloaking vandals with perfect, watching the gas explode from their collar bones. Alec suddenly takes a slash to the shoulder, cutting into his armor and forcing him on the ground. He turns to see a vandal standing over him, wearing green rags, about to stab him.

"ALEC!" Chloe yells. She forces her palm out, fire emanating from her palm and burning the enemy. She then puts her rifle up and shoots two rounds into the burning vandal's head. Chloe takes Alec's hand, helping him to his feet. The titan backpedals as a hail of bullets bounce around the room. Alec and Chloe force themselves behind the computer hardware, shielding themselves from the bullets. Alec looks out to see the titan get gunned down, and a dreg take his ghost and rip it apart. Alec gets behind his cover and waits as dregs, vandals and servitors hail their cover with bullets.

"We're sitting ducks," Alec said, reloading his rifle. "What are we going to do?"

"We need to get outside," Chloe says, peeking over cover. "It'll give us more mobility!"

"And how do you suggest we do that," Alec says, his voice sounding surprisingly blasé. "We emerge, we get blasted into swiss cheese!" Chloe smirks.

"You got some Light in you?" She says, starting to give off an orange glow. Alec smiles from ear to ear deviously.

"Chloe, I could kiss you right now."

"Later." Alec couldn't tell if she was serious or not. The comment was quite deadpan.

She emerges from her cover and ignites in a bright yellow light, phoenix wings emerging from her back that are made out of fire. She throws a huge fireball at a horde of enemies. And another. And another. Alec runs past, shooting at enemies trying to fire at Chloe and throwing knives when he runs out of bullets. When they emerge from the room, the situation outside was not much better. There was enough fallen outside to fill up half of Camelot. They leap onto the platforms above them, Alec hurling grenades and shooting at enemies. Once they get up and out of the crossfire, Chloe's light runs out and she exhales heavily. She looks at the horde of enemies below them moving into position to fire at them. "Alec, here's my Dawning present," She says, handing Alec a massive machine gun. "Use it well." Alec loaded a drum round and the ammo into the gun, and held it at the ready.

"Archon to Scout, we're down one man and we're bring swarmed by Exile House," Alec radios, as the fallen start firing on them. "What's your twenty?"

"Ava to Archon," Ava picked on radio. "We're two minutes out from your destination. We're bringing rockets to clear up the horde. Hang tight." Alec swears as he exits the radio, holding the machine gun up at the ready. The weapon had a long stock, very thick and sturdy with a small short range scope attached. The barrel of the gun was big, acting as an accomplice for the large bullets to be fired. He exits cover, aims and squeezes the trigger. There goes one dreg, vandal, and captain in a few seconds. After he empties the magazine, most of the enemy on the flank is down. He turns back to Chloe.

"I like this thing." Alec says, deadpan. Chloe laughs. They hide behind the cover taking out whatever fallen they can until the scouts arrive. Alec sees them approach on sparrows from afar, three in number. All of them are hunters. When they get near, they leap up into the air and gain high altitude. The sparrows run over a few dozen fallen while the hunters get into a triangle form. They pull rocket launchers, load them, and fire into the horde. Explosions pop up here and there, causing most of the horde to die off and the rest to stagger. The hunters land and pull their primaries. Alec and Chloe re-emerge from cover completely and with the help of the scouts, they wipe out the fallen horde in a good minute. Alec gives Chloe back her machine gun and drops down. He is greeted by Ava, in her outfit which has added a glass screen helmet. She has a rocket launcher on her back and a hand cannon on her hip.

"We appreciate the assistance." Alec says, patting Ava's shoulder.

"We appreciate the action," Ava says, sounding more serious than usual. "We have a route for you ready to go. We're waiting on your signal, Commander." Alec hated the formality. It was used for modest purposes, but he still hated it.

"Between you and me, drop the formalities," Alec says. "I never gave you permission to grow an iron spine."

"Then I'm glad you managed to keep your ass alive, Alec," Ava responds. "We have some bad news. One of our strike teams and multiple of the scouting parties were either killed or are MIA." Alec looks back at Ava, in shock. Already?! How?!

"That's bad news," Chloe says, speaking for the flabbergasted Alec. "If so many are dead already, then there's a Baron keeping to himself that's commanding the fallen on the surface. And even worse, they either improvised the attacks or were ready."

"Improvising a large scale attack in less than five minutes," Alec said, shaking his head. "I'm calling BS on that one. They were prepared. What's the status of the other teams and scouts?" Ava shifted uncomfortably.

"Engaged in combat at the FOB site." She said. Alec took her by the shoulders, while Chloe gave an audible gasp.

"What do you mean engaged in combat?! Why?!"

"The fallen forced their hand," Ava says timidly. "It was either attack now or die waiting for escort." Alec summoned Hades.

"Get our sparrow in, we're moving." Alec said. Hades vanished and in his place was the black sparrow he had paid good glimmer for. He hopped on, the others doing the same and let the scouts escort them through the safe path to the FOB site. They arrived within two minutes. The FOB site seemed to be in a small crater of some sort, only a few feet into the ground and not very steep, but it is there. In the center is a circular station suspended by a pillar and foundations running up the sides. And to its north east, northwest, southwest and southeast are four more building suspended by proper foundations. The area is dusty and weathered. But what really stuck out was the massive fight going on. Guardians and scouts are surrounding the FOB, which Alec could not really tell from the Chinese scrawl but he assumed it was a lab site, firing at the fallen heavily occupying the center of the area. There are servitors going every which way as well as captains and vandals keeping the guardians at bay. There are also dregs and shanks heading forward to try and infiltrate the ranks of the Guardians.

Alec, Chloe and Ava run to cover where they can see Titus and Damascus. They take under cover and take a few shots at some approaching dregs. Alec turns to Damascus, yelling "What the hell is happening?!"

"Assault on the FOB," Damascus reports. "Fallen have the area locked tight. We have a few guardians capturing the outside camp areas. We get to the center, our problems go away. But we have a few problems on what's happening. We can't fight openly due to the sheer amount of fallen here, and until we get that perch from them we're stuck."

"What about the fallen on the outside buildings?" Alec asks.

"We've got them down. All the fallen seem to be doing is keeping the center." Damascus says. Alec looks out over the battleground. One of the facilities is parallel to the foundation running up the side. It's perfect jumping distance.

"I've got an idea," Alec says. "You a striker?"

"Yes." Damascus replies. Alec points to the facility he was observing.

"Me, you and Ava head over there and leap onto the foundation," Alec says. "Titus and a few snipers need to keep the fallen off of our asses. Once we get in, we kill everything inside. Then, you drop down and give them a little Fist of Havoc. In the meantime, Ava and I keep the fallen from getting in." Damascus and Ava look at one another.

"It's as good a plan as any." Ava says. Damascus nods. The three run to the facility that is near the foundation and make sure the snipers are covering them. Once they are sure, they leap onto the foundation and sprint up to the top of the circular station. Meeting them at the top is a number of fallen. The three gun them down a bit at a time until they finally clear out the center. Alec and Ava take the entrances and gun down any fallen trying to get back the center. Damascus jumps out of the center.

And he activates his Light.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry this was the only chapter I could upload during the timeframe. I'm finally working on that Fallout story, so that should be coming real soon.**


	21. Act 2: Chapter 21: The Burg Eltz

**So, it's about time. The Nintendo Switch has come out, and Breath of the Wild is within my reach. It's time for me to sell my Wii U and every single game I have for the system. I will miss you, Wii U. So many good memories were made. And even better ones will be made in the future. SO. I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: The Burg Eltz

A week passed since the ground force captured the FOB site. Now called "Burg Eltz," New Monarchy decided to give the area a make-up. They reinforced the area with steel, twenty-foot barricades in every direction, made shield generators to cover the dome, and then fixed up the facilities in the area. There's a War Room, living quarters, barracks, science department, Live Combat CIC, a chapel, everything. Alec walked into the barracks, taking off his helmet. After getting electricity working, oxygen production seemed to be rather high. Chloe wanted to meet him for sparring. He passed Damascus, who caught him by the arm.

"Ava's recon team just came back," the exo said. "Say something."

"No." Alec says, trying to get his arm free from the exo's grip. It worked about as well as you think it would.

"I know you're angry with her," Damascus says. "That's just her. She's a hopeless flirt."

"That doesn't excuse anything," Alec said, finally getting free. "I have places to be. I'll see you in the War Room." Alec walked on. Ava hasn't really tried anything since the stunt she pulled on Camelot. And Alec doesn't feel like forgiving her, despite Damascus's best efforts. He made it into the sparring pad, taking off his armor and replacing it with casual garb. His tank top was covered by a fully zipped jumpsuit. It felt to have the armor off for once. Alec has been running countless strikes to keep the fallen away from Burg Eltz while it undergoes construction. His solid sleeping hours recently have been two hours. It felt good to be in garb.

He met Chloe in the center of the mat while everyone else is sparring around them. Chloe is wearing a tank top with the bottom of the jumpsuit. The top is tied around her waist. Her hair was pulled back in a dirty pony tail and her brow is covered in sweat.

"Hitting the gym hard?" Alec asks her, assuming a combat stance. Chloe chuckles, assuming her stance.

"Yeah, and no one else has the raw speed and power that you do," Chloe says. "Recon is soft around the edges. Tower types. Snipers."

"Can't wait to get my ass handed to me." Alec says, closing the gap. He throws a punch, which is deflected. The process goes back and forward at a rapid speed a few dozen times, with Alec and Chloe dodging and weaving around the other's attacks. "So, how's the base holding up?" Alec asks, minding the fist closing in on his stomach.

"Well," Chloe says, focused on the patterns. "Supplies are coming in swiftly. Recon is holding vast results for our maps. Our electricity and intake of food and water is going quite well for such a large number of staff on deck." Chloe weaves around Alec's arm as he throws a punch. She faces her back toward Alec's stomach and locks his arm in between her arms, pulling. Alec knows the process. She's going for a flip. Alec shifts his balance back and slides his foot in front of hers. Tripping her, he spins her around and pushes her back. She seems to be stunned, and Alec goes in for more hits. Chloe steps back.

"Any trouble from the fallen or hive?" Alec asks, throwing more punches.

"The fallen have been attempting to push into territory, and being stomped out by recon and strike teams," Chloe says. "Every time they've gotten close, they usually are taken out by an airstrike. As for the hive they've been…" Chloe closes in, interlocking legs with Alec. She goes for a jab to the head and pulls Alec's head to her knee. Alec, taking the knee, grabs the hitting leg and pulls it upward. Chloe, flipping, catches herself with her hands and flips backward onto her feet. Alec touches his forehead, which is now bleeding.

"Relatively silent." Chloe finishes her sentence.

"I get the memo," Alec says. "Shut up and fight."

With the formalities out of the way, Alec and Chloe had carte blanche to spar as they usually did: brutally and violently. Most of the fighters stopped in the middle of their sparring to watch the two go at it. They were kicking, punching, dodging, rolling, flipping, parrying, all kinds of stuff. Alec landed a kick to Chloe' stomach, Chloe got a shot in the back of Alec's knee. Alec got a punch in Chloe's jaw, Chloe flipped Alec over his shoulder and stomped on his spine. After a solid ten minutes, the fighting was brought to a draw. Alec was sweating fiercely, his arms and body covered with cuts and bruises. Chloe looked like she just went swimming, with her outfit drenched in sweat and her mouth bleeding.

"Stale…stale mate?" Alec asked in between breaths. Chloe dropped her stance and let her posture droop.

"Y-yeah…sure." She replied. They both sat at the nearest bench and caught their breath.

"Y'know, I think I nearly had you that time." Alec says, his neck against the wall.

"Yeah, well, I was pretty tired when we started." Chloe responds, pretty winded.

"I don't know. I'm going to milk this for all I can."

"God, I hate you."

"Ahem…" Ava was standing over the two. Chloe suddenly tensed up and got uncomfortably close to Alec.

"Ava," Alec said. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I've been watching you two dance for about…six minutes now," Alec and Chloe gave her questionable looks. "What? It was entertaining!"

"What do you need?" Alec asks.

"War room," Ava says. "Required meeting with all staff. Ten minutes." Alec groans. Time for battle strategies.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Everyone met in the spacious war room around a central holographic projector. Alec and Damascus, the lead Commanders, were operating the machinery. Everyone gathered and Damascus called for silence. Alec cleared his throat. "We recently got word from the Vanguard about our objective on Luna," he says. "They decoded the hive codex and we've located their operations underneath the lunar surface. They are planning a large scale invasion of Earth."

Unrest instantly grows through the entire crowd. People saying "I'm not dying here," "we'll never beat them," and "it's hopeless."

"SILENCE!" Damascus roars. Everyone quiets at once.

"I know your concerns…" Alec tries to start. It doesn't work.

"You just want us to die for nothing!" A guardian yells.

"This is the Disaster all over again!"

"ENOUGH," Alec yells. "We've lost to the hive in the past. We haven't fought them at all up until now because of this. The hive took advantage of that, and now they're at our door step. I know that the moon is under their control. I know that the Great Disaster happened! I know how many lives fell at the hands of Crota and the hive! That's not what's important! What is important is our objective:

"We're here to guarantee that the hive don't take any more! We stop their invasion here, where they live! And we may not live to see the end of it. But in the words of old generals. We're not here to die for our planet. We're here to make those sons of bitches die for theirs! We'll hit them hard! We'll hit them heavy! And we won't stop until we send them screaming back to hell!" The crowd doesn't protest in response.

"Good," Alec continues. "Now then. Priority number one is our HPT. Obeck, the Bastard of Crota. As his name suggests, he is Exalted. Back during the Collapse, our sources-namely Eris Morn-have reported an "unholy matrimony" between Crota and a Wizard. From those eggs came Obeck. And Obeck is determined to finish his daddy's work. He is behind the Hidden Swarm, and he is the leader of the Army that plans to take it from our grasp. We are to get to him and we are to kill him. We kill him, the Hidden Swarm falls and the invasion is thwarted."

"There is an area that leads into the deepest catacombs of the Hellmouth, and by extension, our hallowed moon," Damascus says. "This area is the Temple of Crota. The hive don't know we know it exists, and we're going to have a large berth there. Now, we won't be completely lost. Our recon corps have led geothermic scans, and they have the area mapped out. We're going to hit our first and most important target in the Hellmouth: The World's Grave."

"Eris Morn, in her travels of the catacombs, has this cataloged," Alec says. "The World's Grave is a massive information dock that is used to "tithe" to a being named Oryx. It has everything they've ever learned about our planet. And from Eris's data, the Grave is of extreme significance. Not only does it have volatile data on Earth, but it has so much of it that it's broken the Bekenstein Limit. For those not as technologically versed as us, that means that they've crammed a number of information into a space so small that space-time literally cannot hold it. That's how much of it they have."

"The Grave is important, but it will be impossible to get to unless we have hive out of that area," Damascus says. "Our target is Kranox, the Graven. He is the keeper of the AO and holds the key to the Grave. A small strike team can get inside, take the key, steal the information, and destroy the Grave."

"But where's the temple?" Ava asks.

"Good question," Alec says, pulling up new data. "The Vanguard doesn't really know, but we assume it's near us. To be more precise, two and a half miles south of our position. Here is our plan. A small fireteam, three people at best, head into the temple and secure the starting area. Once we're in, we place a beacon in the nearest hole we can find and we start transmatting troops in. The phase two team will be a large task force, composed primarily of titans. Titus-6 will be the commander of this group. I and two recon troops will head as group one and place the beacon. Those who Titus doesn't choose will stay here with Damascus and act as base security and HQ Command Center. You have a day to prepare for the op. Dismissed." Everyone disperses from the room and Alec steps outside.

Their first mission is a guaranteed success. It's to throw the hive off their game and secure a place in the catacombs so they have a shoot of heading into the Hellmouth. But Alec isn't sure the entire operation on the moon is doable. Ava approaches him.

"Commander, I have a proposition." She says.

"What proposition?" Alec asks.

"I can be part of your recon unit to capture the base, sir."

"You're high as a kite if you think I'm going to accept that," Alec says, starting to walk away. "And I told you to drop the formalities." Ava grabs his arm.

"Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot," Ava says. "I should've stopped when I had the chance. I was…"

Alec couldn't tell under the helmet what color Ava cheeks were, but he was sure she was embarrassed. "You were what, Ava?"

"Jealous. I was jealous." Ava says.

"I'm not someone to be jealous over," Alec says, rolling his eyes. "We need you on recon keeping paths clear. Get out there."

"But…"

"Chloe, find our friend Artemis Dawn," Alec says into the radio. "You're on my op." He turns off his radio before Chloe responds and turns back to Ava. "Go." Alec starts to walk away. He does not need a liability on his side…

"WHY DO YOU HATE ME," Ava shouts, making Alec pause. "Explain this to me so I can make it up to you! I get it! I flirt, a lot! I made a mistake, I can admit that! But it was that one time! And I've been trying my best to be a good soldier on the skirmish this far!"

"Ava, I don't care about what you did," Alec lied. "I care about where you are on the field."

"Bullshit."

"This isn't a question, Ava! Stay on recon. The operation needs you to stay there."

"I know this land better than anyone! I can infiltrate areas with amazing speed. I haven't killed an archon, but…"

"Stay on recon, Ava. That's an order." There is a tense silence between the two. It stays for a solid three minutes of the two staring into each other's eyes. Eventually, Ava's posture dropped and her hand crept onto her opposite arm.

"Yes, sir." Alec walks away.

* * *

 **HEY GUYS! QUICK QUESTION! WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DO MORE SAPPY ONE SHOTS?!**


	22. Act 2: Chapter 22: The Temple of Crota

**Okay, being completely honest. I don't know how this chapter will turn out. I hope it'll turn out okay, but there's a lot to do. So, sorry for the time lapse between this chapter and the rest. Okay, so I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review! I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: The Temple of Crota

Alec and Chloe meet up at the barricade that leads into the moon, infected with fallen above the surface. Alec had made sure that all of his gear was ready, as did Chloe. If this assignment is as dangerous as everyone thinks it is, it is likely a one way trip. Alec clears his throat, "So, we're prepared for the expedition to go under way?"

"Yes." Chloe says.

"The Vanguard said they had found a way to track the Temple of Crota's location," Alec said. "How exactly is that?"

"The scouts scanned the cracks on the moon's surface, giving us a map of all-if not, most of-the Hellmouth," Chloe says. "Tunnels on the upper level branch and go here and there. And strangely enough where the tunnels are closest to the surface, there seems to be white noise emanating from the ends of the tunnels."

"White noise?" Alec asks.

"Yes," Chloe says. "Our comms picked up the nearest emanation south of here, two and a half miles. That's where we assume the temple is."

"What could the white noise be?" Alec asks.

"There are a few theories," Chloe says. "It gives off a frequency similar to that of Light. The kind that we use, just above gamma radiation. It could be the codex of the hive. It could be the hive communicating. Then again, if the frequency is similar to that of the Light we use…"

"It could be the Darkness consuming dying Light." Alec catches on. There is silence for a few minutes before a titan approaches them. Alec recognizes the familiar crucible armor, purple color. She has a pulse rifle, shotgun, and a large machine gun on her back. It's black in color, with blue stripes running down the barrel and a wire connecting the muzzle to the hammer. "Artemis Dawn," Alec says. "Tell me. What the hell brought you to the moon to fight the hive?"

"You, my friend," Artemis says. "I see you're sporting the Monte Carlo. Convenient find." Alec nods.

"And that machine gun," Chloe says. "Is that…the Thunderlord?" Artemis slings the machine gun off of her back, examining it.

"Yes," Artemis says. "Found it all the way back in my Vanguard days. Haven't used it in years. It'll be fun to carve through hive with this thing back on my hip. So, Commander, remind me what it is we're doing?"

"You weren't at the meeting?" Chloe asks.

"Busy making sure a secret fallen sect didn't destroy Burg Eltz." Artemis responds.

"What?" Alec says.

"I'll explain later, but the House of Exile is getting restless. We need to act immediately if we want to get past a day on this op," Artemis says. "Now, what are we doing?"

"Infiltrating the Temple of Crota to plant a transmat beacon so we can start hitting our HPT where it hurts," Alec explains. "Our HPT is Obeck, Bastard of Crota. And our first target is the World's Grave, an information source that holds all of everything they know about Earth."

"All right then," Artemis says. "Let's get on it." The three get on sparrows and head south, occasionally running into a fallen patrol once or twice. Eventually, they head into a canyon. They reach a ledge that their sparrows cannot cross, so they continue the path on foot. There are rocks scattered here and there, and two ledges on both sides of the canyon. In the center, there is a structure looking to be made of a dark colored steel. On both sides of a massive door are symbols with faces made of arrows inside of circles. The door has locks with chains on them, and rune incantations in the locks. In front of the door is…

"Guardian down." Chloe says. The three approach what looks like a titan, with most of his armor corroded away.

"Explains the white noise," Alec says. "His Light is dying."

"Where's his ghost?" Artemis asks. Alec looks up at the runes.

"In there? Maybe?" Alec says, his heart beating faster. Chloe backs up from the guardian, putting her hand out. Tiber appears, and looks at the door.

"Let's crack it open." Chloe says, Alec pulling Hades out at around the same time.

"Are…you sure?" Hades asks, Tiber concerned as well.

"Nope." Chloe answers.

"Fair enough." Hades says. He and Tiber start scanning at the runes. Artemis chuckles.

"At least you're honest." Artemis says, shaking her head.

"Uh huh," Chloe says, keeping her eyes on the door. "I've got a strange feeling about this…"

"Didn't spend enough time on the field to be confident," Artemis asks. "Or are you just paranoid?"

"I've spent enough time sparring with Alec to be ready for anything." Chloe says, turning her head toward the titan, standing there smugly with her arms crossed.

"Sparring? That's it?" Artemis chuckles.

"I'm willing to bet he can kick your ass in five millis…" A scrapping and humming sound inturrupts Chloe. The three turn back to see the door's runes and chains turn orange. Then they start disintegrating into nothing. "That was…fast." Chloe says nervously. The door starts sliding open slowly, misty substances crawling out of the door. Alec gets a chill down his spine. The ghosts return to their owners, their shells twitching ever so slightly.

"We…might want to…step…back." Hades says, his mechanical voice sounding spooked. The three step a few feet away from the door as it opens ever so slowly. Alec squints his eyes as he sees a series of green lights. Then, as the door opens, a swarm of thrall start flooding out of the door. About forty-six of them. Alec swears, drawing his Monte Carlo. Chloe draws her scout, and starts picking off the thrall with precise headshots. Artemis pulls her Thunderlord and does the same routine as Alec: they start mowing down the thrall as quickly as possible. The thrall start falling over each other and stepping over each other's corpses. The three back up slowly, shooting down every thrall they can. Alec sees acolyte troops and knights taking cover behind the rocks.

"We've got acolytes taking position!" Alec yells out to his team. Artemis puts her Thunderlord up and launches herself into the impending crowd of thrall. She smashes her fist into the ground, a massive electric shockwave forcing itself out. The earth shakes, a massive clap buzzing in the team's ears. Alec feels the electricity in the air, and watches as a massive amount of hive are disintegrated, turning into electric energy. After the Fist of Havoc showoff, there are about eight thrall left. Artemis fires her shotgun at three's heads, blocks a thrall's bite and killing it with a shotgun, smashing another hive's jaw out of place with her elbow, smashing a thrall's skull with the butt of her shotgun, punching a thrall in the jaw and finishing with shoving the shotgun barrel in a thrall's mouth and pulling the trigger.

"Works for me," Chloe says, shrugging. "Take cover!" The three dive behind rocks, a razor whizzing past Alec's head. Alec pokes his head out of cover, taking in the battlefield. Three acolytes start advancing on the team, another four are in the back firing at the group from over, two each on each side of the canyon, two knights arming ranged weapons and one charging the team. "BOOMERS!" Chloe yells. Alec watches the back knights as their weapons hurl massive balls of blue energy into air. And they're headed right for the team. Alec winces as he takes a razor straight to the helmet, and immediately is knocked to the floor.

Explosions go off, blue energy splashing onto the floor. "ALEC!" Artemis yells. She sprints over and grabs at Alec's cloak, yanking him into the air and over her head. He is slammed onto the floor again, rolling and shaking his head to get his bearings. He and Artemis nearly died from the knights' boomers. "C'mon, no time to rest!" Artemis says, pulling Alec to his feet. Artemis turns to see a knight wielding a massive dull sword, like someone made a sword out of bone. Artemis dodges a swing from the knight, dropping and kicking it in the stomach. Alec takes his Monte Carlo and sprints, trying to regain his spatial awareness as her ran. Somewhere in the battlefield, he saw a wizard floating around, shooting arc energy at Chloe. Alec got behind the wizard, pivoting as he saw the three acolytes from earlier. Chloe takes in to herself to shoot one acolyte in the head, as Alec throws a knife at the back of another acolyte's crest. The last acolyte turn, firing his shredder. He misses Alec, who bends the arm out of proportion and stabs at the acolyte's collarbone. The acolyte screams, like metal grinding against each other. Alec sweeps his leg, which allows him to fire his gun at the acolyte. He spins, seeing the last four acolytes coming down from the roof work. A knight with a boomer is mowed down by machine gun fire, and one of them is already gone.

He spins to see Artemis standing over the one knight with the bone sword's corpse. Chloe aims her rifle in the air, right for the wizard's eyes. The wizard clenches her fist in front of her chest, spawning a dark cloud of black mist. The pattern that it moves in is venomous, toxic. Which engulfs Chloe, Artemis and their armor. Alec aims his Monte Carlo, emptying a clip on the wizard. It hits the wizard's shield, blocking the bullets with an orange-yellow substance. The wizard turns its head, opening its skull-like mouth and screaming. The sound sends chills down Alec's sound, and it sounds like a young woman being tortured. The scream terrifies him. The orange armor on the wizard's tattered robes only emphasized this scream. It's like a zombie face, with a crown for a crest. The face stretches around her chest, abdomen and shoulders. She hovers swiftly and elegantly back into the building, as if challenging them to go further in.

"Alec, that's Vurok," Chloe says, running out of the mist. "She 'courted' Crota when he was alive. She is the one that gave birth to Obeck."

A series of screams reached out from the Temple, engraving a message at the back of Alec's mind. " _Come and get me._ "

Alec reloaded his gun and ran into the Temple. Chloe and Artemis did the same. Alec found himself doing it the instant he heard the screams. He ran in, seeing staircases leading down into a cavern. Across is another platform, with crystal lanterns engraved into the rock walls. And where the walls were a sickly green metal, there were engravings of a strange dialect and the symbol of Crota. On the other side of the room, Vurok is hovering silently. And then, a ton of acolytes, knights and thrall emerge out of nowhere.

"Oh no." Alec said, instantly feeling a sense of dread. The hive have them pinned. Seconds later, the hive start firing their weapons. The blades carve into Alec's armor, decreasing his shields. The team scatters, shooting at anything that moves. They try to get a pin on the wizard, Vurok, but she just floats from place to place elegantly. She screams, obviously commanding the troops to go places. Every single hive they seem to kill, two more appear from the caverns. They kill and kill, but it doesn't seem to be enough. The hive just keep coming.

Alec jumps from platform to platform avoiding the blades and shockwaves produced from the shredders and boomers. Eventually, he lands himself in a corner. The thrall start sprinting at him, which Chloe and Artemis try to pick off. Artemis is hit in the side with a knight's cleaver, sending her flying. Chloe's neck is grabbed by Vurok, who screams in the warlock's face and throws her into a wall. Alec sees every hive in the room aim at him. He doesn't have nearly enough ammo to take all of them out.

Suddenly, an explosion hits a ton of hive on one side of the room. Then another explosion on the other side. And another. And another. The room, is filled with fire that kills hive left and right. The hive, dazed by the chaos, spin around in different directions, trying to find the source of the fire. Alec sprints to go and help Chloe. He turns his head and sees a figure fly through the air in a crouched position, with a cloak and knives on her thigh. She has a massive gleaming rocket launcher aimed at the ground, and she is currently reloading the massive thing. Vurok's eyes, trap the movement screaming at the new person who lands on a platform adjacent to Alec, right above him. She aims her rocket launcher at Vurok, and the blast scatters into smaller rockets. The force of the blast knocks Vurok out of the air. Alec turns to look at the mask of the hunter. He cannot not tell due to the helmet but is sure he can see the playful eyes of…

"Ava?! The hell are you doing here?!" Alec says, in an uproar.

"Saving your sorry ass," Ava replies in a mix between coy and serious attitudes. "You set a trap. And you probably would have died if it wasn't for me. You're welcome."

"I'll rip you apart later," Alec says, helping Chloe to her feet. "There are more hive coming. We have to keep them back."

"I've got the entrance," Ava says, hearing the cry of thralls from the caverns downstairs. "You help your team." Ava leaps away, aiming her rocket launcher at the pockets of hive coming for them. Alec goes to help Artemis, and he watches Vurok start to hover out of the corner of his eye. She starts elevating, and growls and high pitch screech. She opens her palm at Alec, shooting balls of energy at him. Alec swears, getting Artemis on her fight and dodging the shockwaves of electricity hit the rock and metal. Chloe pulls her scout rifle, firing at Vurok. The witch dances in the air, dodging bullets and throwing arc energy at the team.

"Son of a bitch!" Alec yells, angrily firing at Vurok. She dodges the bullets and approaches Ava rapidly. Ava spins around, a hand cannon suddenly in her hand. It pierces Vurok's armor, having her stagger. Chloe fires at Vurok, whittling her shields. Once they are down, Alec draws a knife and throws it at Vurok. It catches her in the shoulder, jutting out at a bizarre angle. Vurok screams, dropping feet lower to the floor. Artemis leaps into the air, tackling Vurok and forcing her to the ground. Alec and Chloe approach, unloading bullets into Vurok's face. Within seconds, Vurok dies. Her screeches echo through the caverns.

"Good riddance." Chloe says, her voice sounding bitter.

"Hey guys," Ava says, her voice sounding tired and desperate. "A little help? Please?" She is about to be overrun by a horde of hive. The three sprint over and start helping Ava gun down hive. Eventually, the hive are forced back down into the caverns. And they don't come back up.

"So," Alec says, panting. "Sitrep." Chloe's armor is dented in a ton of places, Artemis's armor is soaked in ash and her own blood, and Ava's chest is rising and falling in exhaustion.

"Let's see," Ava says, putting her rocket launcher on her back. "I saved your sorry behinds-you're welcome-I helped fight off a ton of hive, and you guys killed a Hive Exalted! Hooray!" Alec, Chloe and Artemis put their weapons away. Artemis keeps an eye on the cavern, probably watching out for hive. Chloe sits down, rubbing her arm.

"I took one in the arm," Chloe says, removing the armor-but not the air tight suit-and administering to the patch and blood. "I'll be fine for now. I just need some rest. I'll in a bit."

"Sounds good," Alec says. "As for you, Ava. What are you doing here?" Ava rubs the back of her neck.

"I wasn't convinced you would be fine on the mission. So I followed you," She says, her voice sounding timid. "I know, I know that wasn't authorized. So, I might as well drop the formal BS."

"You didn't trust me to run a mission?" Alec said.

"I didn't trust you to not get yourself killed," Ava said, her eyes turning to Vurok's corpse. "These Exalted aren't your typical run of the mill witches. Vurok, and tons of other Exalted, have abilities that are granted to them through the power of the Darkness. And Vurok, the "Spawn of Eir" as Eris likes to put it, _loves_ ambushes. I can tell she lured you into one."

"Yeah. I noticed." Alec says, his voice rising half an octave.

"These witches have an influence over not only your mind, but the fabric of spacetime," Ava says, crossing her arms. "And I know what you're about to say. It's not like mind control. It's like hyponosis. The witch's influence in your mind speaks to you, putting suggestions in your mind. It doesn't force you to do anything it just makes it seem like a really good idea. Now you know." Alec sighs.

"This was a mistake," He says, looking at Vurok's corpse. "We barely got past phase one of the mission and we nearly died. If the hive are this strong, we're going to have a hell of a time getting to whatever is down there. We're going to die out here."

"Nope," Ava says, her posture straightening. "I know the hive. I know their methods, their weaknesses how to maneuver around them, the works!"

"Okay, I get the gist," Alec says, laughing to himself. "Join us Ava. You're an asset." Ava straightens up and salutes.

"Yes, sir." She says, slightly flirtatiously.

"Didn't I tell you to drop the formalities?" Alec says, annoyed. Ava drops the salute.

"Yes you did, sir." Ava replies, her voice coy. Alec shakes his head and looks at his team. Artemis looks ready to go. Chloe is still trying to patch up her wound.

"Chloe, you're sitting this one out." Alec says, facing toward his companion.

"What," Chloe asks, sounding hurt. "Alec, you need me!"

"Damn straight I need you," Alec says, grasping her shoulder firmly. "But I need you at your best. Get back to the Burg Eltz and get patched up. I'll be back for a debrief and maybe another sparring match, eh?" Chloe chuckles.

"Who knows," Ava says. "Maybe I'll record it and it'll have six million views and a fan site." Chloe stands up and grasps her shoulder, wincing in pain.

"Stay alive, sir," She says. "I take pleasure in kicking your ass."

"Jesus Christ, stop that." Alec says, his voice growing irritated. Ava and Chloe laugh.

"Tiber, take me back." Chloe says, she fades from existence and the sound of a ship passes and fades away. Alec claps his hands together and rubs them.

"Alright," Alec says, sounding chipper. "We go down there, and we set up our beacon. We ready."

"I've been ready, sir." Artemis says.

"Jesus Christ," Alec says, his voice sounding extremely irritated. "Stop!"

* * *

 **I REALLY LIKE HOW THAT TURNED OUT! THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CHAPTERS I'VE WRITTEN!**


	23. Act 2-Chapter 23-Storming the Acropolis

**DESTINY! This story, I love this story! I haven't been in this story in a million years! Well, let's begin. I don't own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: Storming the Acropolis

Alec, Artemis and Ava walk down the staircases, going deeper and deeper into the moon's crust. Only yellow crystal lanterns light the way, and Ava suggested that they don't use their ghosts' flashlights so that the hive don't know where they are. When orange light starts appearing near the bottom of the staircase, the three take cover behind the limestone railing. They look out to see an area with tons of hive dwelling in it.

"It's an acropolis." Artemis says.

"All the way down here?" Alec asks.

"It's strangely…beautiful." Artemis notes, losing herself in the architecture. And she was right. There were limestone and metal pillars holding up the ceiling that is hundreds of feet high, smooth walls with yellow inscriptions painted on, and staircases leading from level to level. There were tons of hive. Some soliciting, most of them fighting. There were a few thrall here and there that were feeding on a something, overlooked by a knight or wizard. The three load their guns, Alec thinking.

"We flank them and corner them," Alec says, looking around at the battleground. "Pick them of quickly and quietly."

"Not an option," Ava says, shaking her head. "Hive don't use tactics. They swarm and they hit their enemies until they die. Also, quiet isn't an option. The second they see us, the entire acropolis is going to know where we are." Alec looks at Ava, who is just looking at him. Alec chuckles to himself briefly. He has to admire Ava's balls and sheer willingness to say what she thinks. He moves out of the way.

"Okay, take the lead," Alec says. "Whatever you do, we do."

"Wait, what?" Ava asks, her voice nervous. Alec could feel Artemis glaring at him through his helmet, and Ava's body language closed up. Alec threw his head to the side, motioning at the hive. Ava looks at the hive, double-takes, and leaps over the railing. Alec looks at Artemis, shrugs, and leaps over the railing as well. They run straight into the fray, Ava using her knives to carve some thralls to pieces. Alec sees Ava throw a knife at an acolyte, killing him. Some fighting acolytes started shouting and running to grab weapons scattered on the ground. Knights got weapons on their hips and started screaming orders at the hive. The sound was like cobblestone scraping against rusted steel. It unnerved Alec and sent a chill down his spine.

Alec and Artemis started unloading their bullets into the larger groups of hive, managing to mow them down. The chaos confused the hive focused on Ava, making them spin around to look for what is killing them. Most of them did not get far without getting a handful of lead jettisoned into their face. Ava took the opportunity to run around the battleground, making the less focused hive be more viable targets for her. Some hive, like the knights and some of the acolytes, actually stayed on her and followed her where she went. Once the targets were dead, Alec and Artemis ran off to reload their rifles. The three ran in circles around the hive, confusing them for about a minute. The rest of the hive got wise to what they were doing, which were five acolytes and three knights. Ava ended up yelling "Converge!"

The three ran inside the circle of hive, the knights sealing the opportunity to use their "cleavers." Alec stabbed through the soft spots in a few acolytes, looking back to see Ava jumping to knife a knight in the face. The knight surprisingly grabbed Ava's arm and slammed her into the ground. He raised his arm into the air, ready to carve into Ava's body. Alec panicked. The Darkness would eat Ava alive if it got to her, and the ghost would not be able to revive her. Artemis noticed this and immediately ran forward and punched the knight in the jaw. The knight winced, letting go of Ava. Alec took the opportunity and aimed his gun, unloading bullets into the knight's body until he was wincing on the rock. Artemis helped Ava to her feet and they cleared out the rest of the hive with relative ease.

The three reloaded and immediately got to work. All three of them knew the acropolis they found is huge. This is the perfect foothold to use so that they can try and push into Hive territory. If they're going to do something, it has to be now. Artemis got on one of the highest vantage points possible, and scouted out the one real entrance to the place. Ava got in a good spot of cover that she used to plan out their defenses. And Alec planted the beacon on his belt under a crevice in some limestone.

"Phase One to Burg Eltz, Phase Two needs to get down here ASAP," Alec calls into his radio. "Beacon is placed, Phase Two is ready to go underway. Come in!" All Alec, and the rest of the team, hears is static.

"I don't think they can hear us." Artemis says.

"Why?" Alec asks. He can hear hive screaming from ways away.

"There isn't a clear connection to Burg Eltz," Ava says. "We're surrounded by Darkness, and they won't be able to pick up our frequency through it. But it'll be able to push through if we find a patch in the Temple with cracks in the ceiling."

"Where?" Alec asks. He makes sure the beacon is secure and well-hidden before approaching Ava.

"The Circle of Bones is the closest area here, but we have to push deeper into the Temple," Ava says. "And hive are going to want us dead."

"Then let's not waste time," Alec says, turning at the entrance that leads deeper into the Temple. "We need to move." They charge into the tunnel, noting the areas and architecture. The tunnel they were headed down was carved out erratically, with metal guard rails and platforms headed down the tunnel. Wires hung from the ceiling, although it was obvious no electricity was running through them. Eventually, they ran into a squad of five acolytes and a knight with a boomer. The knight saw them immediately, and pointed them out. Alec aimed his gun and sprayed bullets at them. He managed to send three acolytes onto the ground, bleeding ash, before he had to reload. Artemis threw a grenade at them, sending lightning out that kills the rest of the acolytes and makes the knight wince. Ava throws a knife at his head, making him fall to the floor. More hive were screaming deeper down the hallway.

"They know we're here!" Ava yells, firing at thralls that start sprinting at them.

"Keep going! We're so close!" Alec says, leaping before a thrall can get to him. They run further into the tunnel, and they pick off a few pockets of hive as they go. They eventually reach the Circle of Bones. A little chamber with pockets of tunnels leading off into every direction. High above them was a view of the stars through cracks in the moon's crust. Alec, Ava and Artemis use their flank tactic and run in circles around the hive. It works at first, until thrall started entering the equation.

"Just keep running," Ava says. "Gun them down as you go!" While she wasn't paying attention, a knight jumps in front of her and swings his cleaver. Ava's instincts are fast enough, but the hilt of the blade still hits her in the kneecap. She falls over, but spins around and pumps lead into the knight's face. Ava looks over at Alec and shouts, "Turn! Fire!" Alec spins around and notices a ton of thrall about two inches from his face. He sprays bullets from his rifle into the thrall and they drop in seconds as they fall over each other. After the carnage, Alec looks at his Monte Carlo.

"Thanks, Artemis." He whispers to himself. They clear out the hive and round off their corners, making their way into the center. "Hades, transmit the message!" Hades appears and hovers nineteen feet into the air, transmitting the radio message. The three gun down the hive continuously swarming them. At times, Artemis was reloading her Thunderlord so quickly that the bullets would just keep firing during the reload. Ava used her rocket launcher sparingly, using it every so often when the hive got to thick in some areas.

The battle was exhausting. It seems that when one hive would be gunned down, five more would come out of the tunnels. Grenades exploded, powers were used, and somewhere in there Alec accidently punched Artemis in the gut. Slowly, Alec ran out of bullets. First, he ran out for his Monte Carlo. Then, his fusion rifle. The barrage just kept coming and coming without end and no help in sight. Alec wondered a little bit if they would die here before shoving the thought into the back of his head. He threw three grenades before ducking behind cover to avoid a volley of blades. Ava and Artemis were there too. It did not take long to realize that the entire team was out of ammo.

'Damn it.'

"Alec, what do we do?!" Ava says, panicked.

"Fisticuffs," Alec says, pulling out knives. "We hold no matter what."

"I'm not dying here." Artemis says, adamant.

"Either live a coward or die a hero. Which do you chose?" Alec asks. He steps back from behind the cover and starts throwing knives at acolytes and thralls. The hive were pretty much on top of them now. Alec, Ava, and Artemis were scrapping at the hive with their knives and fists, killing each as brutally as possible. They didn't let up. They didn't stop. Alec lost how much time went by. Until eventually, he heard the blissful sound of gunfire.

Titus and his titans stormed the area, firing at the hive and forcing them out of the area as fast as possible. The hive shifted their focus to the new and way more numerous titans, allowing for Alec, Ava and Artemis to slip into a corner and hide. They waited until the sound of gunfire died and all that was left was heavy breathing. They emerged from out of cover, and Titus-decked in armor-approached them. "Thank God," Alec says. "It's good to see you, Titus."

"You look awful." Titus notes, his voice audibly shocked. Alec noted that his team's armor is trashed. Scrapes, bruises, dents, and a few holes patched with duct tape crudely applied mid battle.

"We ran out of ammunition and had to fight them off by hand," Alec says. "My team is in need of medical attention and nourishment."

"Forget your team, you need it too, Alec," Titus responds. "I have no idea how the hell you survived! The message from your ghost got to us and we couldn't decipher it for twenty odd minutes. You three go back to base. We'll clean up here and ready the area for the next operation." Alec didn't argue. He walked over to his team, who was sitting down and panting on a wall. Alec joined them, laughing. They actually did it! The odds were impossible but they did it!

"We good to go?" Alec asked.

"I need a bed," Ava says, her voice strained. "I'll be ready to go in no time afterward…sir."

"I need some help," Artemis says. "Took one in the leg." Alec and Ava help carry Artemis, who is surprisingly heavy, to the transmat beacon and teleported to Burg Eltz. There, Damascus's team is waiting. Two guardians grab Artemis and drag her off without question. Ava walks off, accompanied by two more guardians asking a billion questions a minute. Alec meanwhile is approached by Chloe and Damascus. And Chloe does something so bizarrely weird that it takes Alec a few moments to transmiot what happened through his brain. Chloe tackles Alec in a hug so hard it nearly knocks him over, and she doesn't let go after five minutes.

"God damn it, Alec," Chloe says, her voice quivering and raspy. "I thought I'd nearly lost you. Never do that to me again!" She pauses and then says in a dead pan fashion, "I still have to kick your ass at sparring later." Alec laughs, out of embarrassment and surprise. Eventually, he separates Chloe from him and looks her square in the eyes through her helmet. He could swear he sees tear tracks.

"Let me rest and then we'll talk about how badass that was, okay," Alec asks. "Where'd this come from?" Chloe backs up, crosses her arms and looks at a rock to the left of Alec.

"Nowhere. I was just worried." She says in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Uh-huh."

"…Shut up." Alec laughs at Chloe's unusual passive-aggressive reactions to his statements. Was she really that worried about him? Alec didn't care. What he needed was ammunition, a debrief, and maybe a sparring match now that he's back from the jaws of death.

And maybe a nap.

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 **WHY DO YOU HAVE TO RUIN ALL OF MY PLANS DESTINY 2?! AHHHHHHHH! Now I have to figure this out! Why?! WHY. HeEHEHEHEehehe…. It's stuff like this is why I want to do more one shots. Thank you for the opportunity, Zelda.**


	24. Act 2: Chapter 24: The Pressure Piles

**You know that feeling you get when you have friends that are musical trash? And then they slowly turn you into musical trash? Like, seriously. Hamilton, Heathers, Dear Evan Hansen, and Be More Chill in that order. Anyways(shut up JP, nobody cares about your nerdiness!) I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

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ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: The Pressure Piles

Alec, Titus, Damascus, and Chloe are gathered around the hologram table in the war room. After the skirmish into the Temple of Crota, the Vanguard wanted to know exactly what was happening on the moon against the hive. They sat down around the table, with little boxes with audio lines and the names " _Andrus Zavala_ ," " _Ikora Rey_ ," and " _Cayde-6_."

"Guardians," Zavala says through static radio. "May we ask why your signal is so weak?"

"We don't have an established satellite up-link to the Tower yet, Commander," Chloe says, taking a computer and typing a file. "Right now, we're sticking with rubber-banded satellite signals and low rounded frequencies. That way, the fallen and hive do not pick up on our location."

"So, I would assume that the fallen situation isn't solved. As is the hive problem." Ikora says.

"Yes, Ikora," Damascus says. "The fallen have gone to ground, and the hive are holing up in the Hellmouth. At this point, it will take a little bit more time to get further into the caves."

"So, what exactly is holding you?" Cayde asks.

"The hive efforts are blocking up the passages through the Hellmouth, not giving us a wide enough opening to get into the deeper caverns," Alec says. "The orders are coming from the Swarm Princes that our informant told us about. We can tell from the unique radio signals that are being emitted from the deeper caverns. As of now, our objectives are to push into the World's Grave and assassinate these princes. Their assassination will weaken hive strength considerably."

"As of the fallen?" Zavala asks.

"I have assigned pockets of scouts to find them and draw them out," Alec responds. "Within time, we will know where the House of Exile are hiding and why."

"As you were, guardians," Ikora says. "We expect another report after these objectives have been completed. We wish you luck on your further operations on the moon."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"So, did we get that information on our new HVTs?" Alec asks Chloe. The two had started up sparring in the gym yet again, and they met about thirty minutes ago. Clearly, they both had stress on top of each other's heads, as they were both fighting insanely hard.

"Kranox, the Graven," Chloe says, getting in close for a grappling maneuver. "The safe-keeper of the World's Grave, and the chronicler of every piece of information these bastards have on our planet. We get to him, we get the key to the cavern the Grave is in, and we steal what they have. Or at the very least, destroy the thing. Then, our friend Obeck will have one less thing to depend on when he needs to kill us."

"Charming." Alec says. Chloe tries to lock her leg behind Alec and get him off balance. Alec holds his ground, and steps forward. His face is immediately two inches away from hers, and he keeps his hands close in case she tries to find an opening. "You have green eyes." Alec says, grinning. Chloe sticks her tongue out, leaping back.

"The Swarm Princes command the hive's strategic combat," Chloe continues. "Princes of Eir, Ur, Xol, and Yul. Merok, the Prince of Eir, commands the defensive components of hive platoons during conflict. He is wise, and cunning. He has killed many by setting up traps for his foes. Banuk, the Prince of Ur, commands offensive techniques in battle. He is brash, assertive, and hits hard and fast. Garok, the Prince of Xol, is the tactician of the group. He likes to attack from the sides and from behind, as opposed to the passive Merok and the aggressive Banuk. Dakoor, the Prince of Yul, is an interesting case. He is like a priest and a barrack keeper, training the troops of the hive as well as tithing to their gods. He is surprisingly cowardly, preferring to fight behind his brothers."

"These princes sound like they are in a place of divine power," Alec says. "Like priests."

"They kind of are," Chloe says, moving in closer. "According to the hive codex, the beings the Swarm Princes-Eir, Ur, Xol, and Yul-are god-like beings."

"And what exactly are these god like beings they worship?" Alec asks, throwing a punch.

"Worms." Chloe says. Alec lowers his guard and steps back. His eyebrow raises.

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was," Chloe says, socking Alec in the face. "Guard up, pretty boy." Alec raises his fists, and jumps over Chloe's immediate sweep kick. He throws three punches which do not connect, but he manages to get in close and block a punch thrown by Chloe. He grabs her arm and pulls her in, elbowing her in the stomach. He hears a gasp of wind and Chloe steps back to kick at his jaw. Alec ducks under her leg, grabs it, and rushes forward. This gets Chloe off balance and she falls on her back, when Alec pushes.

"Aw," Alec mocks, running his hand through his hair. "You think I look pwetty?" Chloe leaps back on her feet, grinning.

"It would help if you spent less time being charismatic and more time doing some push-ups." Chloe fires back, making Alec mock her by holding his hands over his heart, with a fake shocked expression on his face. He looks over to see Ava on a bench, with a camera pointed at the two of them. He motions at Chloe to stop.

"What are you doing?" Alec asks.

"Recording your totally sexually tensionless sparring match." Ava says nonchalantly.

"Har-har." Alec says, his face glowing. Ava puts her camera down, innocently smiling.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she says, waving her hand. "You two have quite the reputation in the Tower which includes multiple online chat boards, a fan site, and some gratuitous fan art! The art is my favorite." Alec hears Chloe snort. Ava stands up and throws the camera at Alec, who catches it. "Come find me when you two are done." She walks off, doing finger guns at the two while she leaves. Chloe walks over and looks at the camera.

"Wanna take a peek?" She asks. Alec looks at her with a befuddled expression.

"Over my dead body."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alec finds Ava in the mess hall after he and Chloe were done sparring. His skin is damp and his hair is stringy, but he still needed time to talk to Ava. He finds her looking over a tablet, swiping away until she notices Alec. She does the "come here" hand gesture with her finger and goes back to swiping away at her tablet. Alec approaches and Ava starts the conversation in the most charming way possible: "You gonna grow a pair and ask her out, or what?"

"What did you need to talk about, Ava?" Alec asks, rolling his eyes.

"You threw away the camera, didn't you," Ava asks, her face still smirking. "It's okay. I have plenty. And it is really quite amazing what people can do with online drawing kits and…"

"Ava." Alec says. Ava throws her hands in the air, sarcasm all over her face.

"Parvati," Ava says, as her ghost pops into being. "If you would bring us the scout report charted map, good sir." The ghost starts projecting a map of the moon's surface with multiple colored dots scattered across the map. "This is a map with collected confrontations of fallen forces."

"Looks scattered." Alec says, looking at the map.

"That's because it is," Ava says. "The dots in green show reports of the House of Exile scavenging. The dots in yellow show the fallen undergoing a type of patrol formation. The dots in blue show them guarding an area. And the dots in red are platoons about to attack the Burg Eltz before they get squished like bugs." The green dots are plentiful in all sections of the map, and the blue dots seem rather close to the green. The red dots are unnervingly large in number-roughly fifteen-and they are scattered all over the map. But Alec noticed that the yellow dots barely exist. There are five of them, and they roughly form a star with how they are placed on the map.

"They seem taken aback by the presence of our outpost," Alec says. "How did you guys stop so many attacks?"

"Our favorite titan Artemis has been tracking them down non-stop ever since we touched down on the moon," Ava responds. "She been finding them using radio patterns and translation filing. Despite being a Crucible girl, she's really good with communication tapping."

"Has to be," Alec says. "She used to go up against the cabal on a regular basis. What's with the lack of yellow dots?"

"That's what I was wondering," Ava says, rubbing her chin. "The House of Exile is unorganized, and they don't have any real command structure that would allow them to be easily defeated by taking out a command chain. You wouldn't think they would be guarding anything but here they are, clearly guarding something. The scouts haven't found anything near these areas, which means the House is moving around a lot. And the fact that they managed to get so many organized attacks against the Burg Eltz together in such a brief amount of time means that not only are they hiding something, but they don't want us to be here."

"But what could it be?" Alec says, looking at the bizarre map.

"That's what I have my scouts trying to find out," Ava says. "Artemis is holding on tight to an encrypted signal that changes codes every two days. Not only is it what has been giving away the positions of all the attacks against Burg Eltz, but with enough luck, it'll lead us back to wherever they've been running the show from and whatever they've been hiding. Rest assured, we'll have them where we want them."

"Do you need some time off from ops so that you can focus on finding the Fallen?" Alec asks. Ava turns to him, her face serious.

"I'm ready to tackle whatever is ahead of me, Alec," She says. "If it's got a head, I'm down to kill it. Besides, who else could keep up with you?"

"Titus? Damascus? Artemis," Alec starts listing, sarcastically grinning. "Chloe?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ava says, waving her hand from up to down once. "Just remember, once you get back to the Tower, tons of people will be asking if you and Chloe are together. And I can make it plenty worse, so be nice."

"Not happening any time soon." Alec says, walking away.

"Worth a shot." Ava sarcastically mutters under her breath.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"So," Damascus says to Alec and Titus. "We have an opening in this one acropolis on the tip of the Temple of Crota when we need to get to the lung. And these Swarm Princes are waiting on the doorstep just waiting for us to knock. We need to get past that blockade of hive and into the World's Grave."

"Once we get inside, we've got a special gadget from warlock R&D," Alec says. "Those mad scientists have concocted a mean type of sonar to make sure that once we get in, the hive won't be able to find us ever again. But how do we cut past those hive?"

"It is going to be impossible to cut past them with a frontal assault," Damascus says. "Not only will the Princes have tactics to hold the position, they'll also have tactics to push us back. Which means, we need the Princes gone. Or at least one of them gone. How do we get to the Princes?"

"The Princes, according to the codex, are not only generals, but priests," Titus says. "If you want to hurt a religious enemy, hurt the religion. And I've got the target. The Sword of Crota."

"What?!" Damascus says in surprise.

"What's so special about the Sword of Crota?" Alec asks.

"In his lifetime, Crota wielded a sword said to cut through reality and bring fire to the sky," Titus says, activating the holo-table to show an artistic render of Crota. "Superstitious mumbo jumbo. The point is…is that Crota killed a lot of guardians with that sword and it drank a lot of Light from their corpses. Finding this sword and destroying it would definantly attract the Swarm Princes' attention."

"They would try to stop us." Alec says, seeing where this is going.

"Forget the fact that the Princes themselves would go after the team assigned to get the sword," Damascus says. "Point is that the sword is dangerous. It eats Light from guardians dead or alive, and if used improperly, it could cause the death of the wielder. It is designed to be used by Crota and Crota only. It's suicide for a guardian to wield it, let alone destroy it."

"Every other hive relic we know of is either deeper into the temple or doesn't exist in this 'realm of existence'," Titus says. "And otherwise, we don't have a way to get further into the temple."

"Did Eris give us a way to find the Sword?" Alec asks.

"I've already found it," Titus says. "It's in a place easily accessible through this ritual site in the Hellmouth. A strike team can go in, grab the sword, kill the Princes, and work their way back to the Circle of Bones to lead an attack on both sides against the hive."

"I'll lead the strike team," Alec says, nodding. "Titus, you and Chloe are with me. Damascus, you lead an organized platoon of guardians on the other side, and once we give the signal, you attack the hive blocking the way. Once we break through, we just tear into the Hellmouth and cause chaos. Make the hive confused and give us time to set the device."

"What does the device do?" Damascus asks.

"From a secluded area, it transmits long-range Light based frequencies like sonar," Alec says. "It'll bounce all around the Hellmouth and it won't give the hive a precise location on where the guardians are. To them, we'll be all over the place. Once that is out of the way, we'll have free reign over all of the Hellmouth."

"Right then," Titus says, popping his robotic knuckles. Or at least imitating the gesture. "Let's get to work."

* * *

 **Don't you just love it when writer's block causes a chapter to be completely scrapped and you have to come up with a completely new one, thus ruining your upload plan? Uhhhhhhh….**


	25. Act 2: Chapter 25: Dire Straights

**My lord, it has been a while. I love this site and I love doing this, but between everything that's going on right now in my life-band tearing all of us apart, sickness, Destiny 2-it is probably the worst time to do stuff ever. But….would you like some form of music? Details in the author's note in the bottom. Anyways, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

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ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Dire Straights

"We're in position," Damascus says over the radio. "Waiting for your word." The operation was set, and everyone was ready to go on Damascus's side. Alec had his sparrow ready outside of the Burg Eltz, and he was now going over the mapping plans that Hades had made him. He also had the device that warlocks cooked up- Alec had taken to calling it the "Lightburst"- in hand. It looked similar to a patrol beacon, with a prong and a rectangular head, and an antenna to project light bursts. It was painted grey and black to mix with the stone of the moon.

"We ready to move?" Alec asks his team. Titus and Chloe were right behind him, loading their weapons. Chloe's red jacket traced down her legs and rimed her calves, covering her armor and insulating suit. It glided around her, and made Chloe look rather charming and somewhat badass, Alec would admit. Titus, as per the usual, looked large and intimidating in his massive armor. Chloe fidgeted with her jacket, apparently getting the grip comfortable, giving a haphazard thumbs up afterward. Titus nods. They summon their sparrows, and begin their ride to the Hellmouth.

"Alright," Chloe says. "We get in, get the sword, and clear out the area."

"And plant the Lightburst." Alec says.

"What?" Chloe says blankly.

"The Lightburst," Alec says. "The device. Got to plant it so the vanguard can effectively explore the moon. Eh?"

"Right," Titus says. "Nevertheless, this is a chance to strike at the Hive. Do not falter, do not restrain yourself. And most importantly, do not show any weakness." The way Titus spoke of the Hive sent shivers down Alec's spine.

"What exactly makes this Sword of Crota so dangerous?" Alec asks.

"You got the basic explanation in your brief," Chloe says. "It's a sword that eats Light with such ferocity that the air around it is pitch black. And its mere power can create flames that enrage the skies and rain down on the ground. Crota used the sword in his massive campaign against the guardians in the Great Disaster, and killed _a lot_ of guardians with that sword."

"Jesus," Alec says, feeling a bit more aware of the fact that he and his team are riding around in the open. "How did Crota die?"

"He didn't," Titus says. "According to Eris Morn, he was 'banished,' whatever that means. He's alive and well. He just isn't on the moon. And Obeck seems to have taken up operations for him."

"Sounds like magic," Alec says. "Razing the sky with fire, banishment. Most of the Hive weaponry according to the warlocks shouldn't even work. How are the Hive doing it?"

"To that, I can only say I have no idea." Chloe says.

Alec looked around, at the grey rocks and dust being kicked up into the atmosphere by their sparrows. The occasional cracks and crevices in the ground are deep, and Alec reminded himself that many guardians died on this very ground. And the leader that caused it never died. What stops Crota from coming back and kicking everyone off the moon again? What stops him from massacring the hundreds of guardians on the moon and turning it back into a wasteland? Will Alec never get to see these dull rocks again in just a few more days?

The group slows down on a small hill. They get off their sparrows and look around the area they are in. Only three-fourths of a mile from them was the gaping hole in the moon, covered by Hive architecture and green mist. It sprawled across the surface and went so deep you could not see the bottom. The hole in the moon is simply known as the Hellmouth, which is synonymous with both the cavern system inside the moon and this massive canyon, which is where it all started and where the meat of the dungeons resides. Chloe lightly punches Alec's shoulder to rip him away from looking at the demoralizing structure, and he focused immediately on what was in front on him. Titus was in front of them, kneeling on the top of the hill and looking out over the horizon. Chloe was headed to join him.

"That over there is our cavern into the Hellmouth," Titus says, handing binoculars to Chloe. "Since most of the Hive is stuck guarding the Circle of Bones, we will have minimal resistance on our way to the sword."

"I'm seeing about five acolytes, two knights, and seven thralls doing…something." Chloe says. She hands the binoculars to Alec, who sees the knights standing guard to a cavern leading into the side of a cliff, acolytes fighting and standing over the thrall, and the thrall hunched over the sides of the walls, appearing to be feeding on something. Alec hands the binoculars back to Titus, and pulls the Monte Carlo out.

"Three pronged attack," Titus says. "I charge from the left and take out the knights. Chloe, you stay back and pick off the acolytes. Alec, you head in from the right and toss a swarm grenade, and take out any thralls with that gun of yours. Ready? Move!" The team leaps into action. Titus runs around the side, grasping the attention of the knights and a few of the acolytes. The knights screech their metallic, scraping sound and turn their boomers toward Titus. Alec taking the attention of Titus in his advantage, and tosses his grenade. It hits the floor around the center and disperses in a flurry of mini-tracers which track enemies and explode on impact. This simple attack, takes out two acolytes and three thralls. Alec, seeing the thrall start to get up and look at him, points the Monte Carlo and holds down the trigger. The thrall, close together, are hit with a hail of bullets which floor them in seconds. Alec reloads, and focuses on the knights. Titus had slid in front of the nearest knight, and fired his shotgun into the knight's face three times. Bone and ash spread everywhere, and the knight fell. Titus fires at the chest of the second knight twice and then starts reloading. The knight, staggering, never expects Alec firing at his head from behind and simply loses his head. The acolytes are sniped in their heads by Chloe, precisely killing them quickly. The battle lasted about twenty seconds.

"Clear," Chloe says. "Oh God." She was looking at what the thrall were feeding off of. It's about six guardians lined up against the wall, without their ghosts.

"Ugh," Alec winces, looking at the bodies. "Sick!" Titus strolls over and looks at the bodies of the guardians, going over their belongings and patches.

"They're a fireteam from Ava's scouting section. Poor fools." Titus says.

"Hades, tell Ava we found an MIA fireteam ready for transmat. Status is deceased," Alec says. "We can at least provide their comrades some solace. Let's kill some Hive." Alec starts sprinting into the cavern with the rest of his fireteam, thinking hard. Guardians, the greatest warriors from the solar system with the ability to come back from the dead. And he just found six confirmed to _be_ dead. They are never coming back.

"This is Titus, we're headed into the Hellmouth," Titus says, as they head deep into the Hellmouth. "Give us a sitrep."

"Still awaiting your orders." Damascus's voice rings out.

"Everything's quiet over here," Ava says. "Thanks for the fireteam confirmation, by the by. Every body we get back is a….shit, shit, shit!" The strike teams stops dead in their tracks.

"What's wrong?!" Alec asks alarmed.

"The Fallen are on the move, headed straight for the Temple of Crota," Ava says. "There's a lot of them, easily about twelve platoons! They just started mobilizing, and they're moving fast! How the hell did they do that?! They just came out of nowhere!"

"We're about to get fire from both sides," Damascus says solemnly. "Dear God…"

"No, not today," Ava says. "This is a Skyshock Alert across all channels on Luna. All scout units, drop what you're doing and head to the Temple of Crota ASAP. Fallen House of Exile is mobilized for the Hive in massive amounts. Central guardian platoons are in danger. Repeat."

"One hell of a battle is about to break out," Damascus says. "We've held against the Fallen on all sides, we can do it now!" Alec felt a sharp shiver down his spine, and his throat goes dry.

"Well, what about us," Alec demands. "Is it possible for us to break through the Hive defense to help out?"

"Denied, Alec," Demascus says. "We need this victory. Get that sword, assassinate the princes, we've got this. What's the House of Exile's ETA, Ava?"

"Twelve minutes," Ava says, sparrows roaring in the background. "Guardian ETA seven minutes. This is going to be tight."

"The second a battle breaks out, the Hive are going to join in," Damascus says. "Circle up, and prepare to fight. Ava, join in of the formation as soon as you get here."

"Hear that, scouts," Ava says over radio. "Let's make some goddamn history!"

Alec can feel everything going to shit. This is how the campaign to take back the moon ends. This is where a dream fueled by hubris ends. This is where a fight to bring humanity's home back to its Golden Age stalls. This is it. Alec cannot move, since he feels that the upcoming fight is going to lead to complete guardian obliteration. Chloe grabs his shoulder firmly, bringing him back into reality. Her helmet is blank, but the simple gesture has so much reassurance. Alec takes a deep breath and nods. The three keep running down the halls. They navigate through the caverns, dropping off a cliff end and onto more cavern until they reach the Circle of Bones and reach some cover.

Alec sees the Hive line reinforced all around the Circle, unaware of their presence. About sixteen thralls, twenty two acolytes, five knights, and three wizards in the tunnel where they are supposed to go down. "Chloe, you can use your super to clear a hole for us." Titus says. Chloe stands up out of cover and leaps in the air. Her entire body ignites in bright white fire and fills up the entire room. The Hive in the Circle shriek in terror at the sudden action, and Chloe taking the opportunity, throws fireballs at the tunnel they are supposed to go down. Thralls are incinerated, their ashes flying through the air, and knights and acolytes scatter to avoid the fire about to incinerate them. Chloe charges through that Hive area, and keeps throwing fireballs. Alec and Titus use this to run through the hole Chloe opened up, ducking to avoid the blades flying over their heads. Once they rejoin Chloe, they assail the Hive with bullets while backing up to keep them back. When about fifteen meters away, Alec casually tosses a swarm grenade in the middle of the ground and the three run, confident they are away from the effective Hive line.

"Whatever you guys did kicked the Hive into a stir," Damascus says. "We can hear the shrieks coming in from here. I recommend you hurry up."

"Ava Kuebrick and the scout platoon reporting for duty," Ava says. "Fallen aren't far behind. Ready to engage on your command."

"Keep weapons trained on both sides," Damascus says. "When I give the order, open fire. Don't let the enemy get close, and don't let the line break!"

"Hades, where's our next stop?" Alec asks, knowing Titus is leading the way but wanting to know what's ahead.

"A shrine called the Gatehouse," Hades replies back, his chirping voice anxious. "It is connected from a hallway in the Hellmouth. And there are plenty of Hive blocking the way. And the Gatehouse itself is being guarded by Hive priests."

"Sounds like we're i…"

"OPEN FIRE!" Damascus interrupts Alec loudly. About three minutes pass before Damascus says, "We're not seeing much Hive. Some must have broken away to cut you off."

"Probably Garok looking to cut us off," Chloe says. "If they really are cutting away, Garok must be with them. Be prepared."

They cross a corner into a hallway. It is long and narrow, with the end seemingly unseeable. The metal floor and stairs leading up to platforms give away how much time the Hive have been on the moon, and even worse, the massive window like cliff looking out over the deep abyss of the rest of the Hellmouth. In front of them are a massive number of acolytes, roughly eight knights, two wizards, and two devices floating in the hallway, that open up their black and spiny exteriors to reveal purple, glowing centers. Chloe swears and slides into cover, as does Titus. Alec does the same, realizing that the Hive devices are firing purple fireballs like a machine gun.

"Hell, they've got shriekers!" Chloe shouts. Alec could barely think with the constant pressure of the fireballs constricting his movement from cover.

"This could be a bit," Titus says. "Damascus, sitrep."

"Taking heavy fire on both sides," Damascus says, sounding out of breath. "The Fallen are adamant and pushing, and the Hive are strangely unorganized. We haven't broken, but the crossfire is looking intense."

"The Hive's lack of structure confirms Garok's absence from the battlefield." Chloe says.

"Chloe, get those shriekers off the field ASAP," Titus says. "Alec, you and I give the Hive a run for their money." Alec pulls a swarm grenade and leaps out of cover low to the ground, tossing it at the hive on top of the left platform. He rolls onto his feet and starts running into the fray. Titus exits cover and sprints straight for the center platform, both of them being chased by fireballs casted by the shriekers. Chloe hangs back and fires at the weapons mercilessly. Alec leaps onto the platform, taking a knife out and chucks it at an acolytes head, killing it. He slides into the next acolyte in front of him, taking the creature off its feet and jumping back up. He grabs another knife and swings it, slitting the acolyte's throat in front of him. He uses his Monte Carlo to drop the next three acolytes in front of him and turns to kill the one on the ground. He keeps running, looking up at Titus who has sent an acolyte flying into pieces, has a knight doubled over on the floor, and his pumping another knight's face full of lead with his shotgun.

Alec sees a wizard coming in to join the fight against Titus, screaming ghastly screeches as it throws electricity balls at Titus. Alec pulls out his fusion rifle and slides into position, firing two rounds at the wizard, draining its shields, and then one last one to the head, killing it. Alec reloads, switching back to the Monte Carlo to help clean up the acolytes that haven't retreated down the hallway. A shrieker blows up, and Titus and Alec keep running forward to chase the Hive. Alec mows down more acolytes with the Monte Carlo, as Titus picks off more with his pulse rifle. The acolytes barely show their heads as Alec and Titus quickly pop them off and Alec focuses on the wizard trying to hold the group together. The wizard quickly falls and the last shrieker is blown up, allowing Chloe to join the fight. They keep the battle going, pushing forward for about five minutes until the Hive start running away.

"Ha!" Alec says.

"Nearly there," Titus says. "Damascus?"

"Little busy- keep it together," Damascus roars. "Seems like we're about to break. Hurry."

"Door on your left." Chloe says. They enter the next room, in a large rectangle coming from a metal platform, lowering onto a stone ground with a floating, dull, stone sword in the center. Looks more like a large meat cleaver than a sword, but from the dark aura around the sword that it is the Sword of Crota. And surrounding it on the opposite side of the room are Hive, with a single knight with a Cleaver roaring over them. His head crest is more large spikey than the others, and his three eyes gleam with green light. The three take over and the Hive immediately start firing.

"That's Garok." Chloe says.

"Grab the sword," Titus says. "We can end this now!" They start firing at the Hive and suppressing their movement, as Alec drops onto the stone floor, running for the Sword. Alec grabs the sword, floating in the center of the room on a silver platform. It is a bit heavy, the stone giving it weight. He could see from the dull looking blade that the weapon had seen plenty of combat.

'This is a Hive relic.'

Alec didn't expect the sword to suddenly sting in his hand. He winces in pain and black veins start running around on his wrist and up his arm. His arm was quickly being encroached by darkness, and being constructed from armor to a jet black, crusty substance. Alec started to feel dizzy, and suddenly he couldn't support his weight. He drops to the floor, supporting his weight on the sword. He coughs hard, coughing a liquid into his helmet. It's blood. Hi vision goes blurry, he can barely hear anything due to the ringing in his ears. He sees a knight land in front on him, probably Garok. The knight kicks Alec back, and Alec lands on his back, unable to move. His body shakes violently. His entire arm and chest is covered in the black crust.

Alec feels awful. All he can tell around him is the blurry firefight going on above him, the knight surely about to kill, him and the suffocating feeling of the sword eating his light. He could die right here, and it would change nothing. The pounding in his ears and brain get worse. It's like lightning striking with every second that passes.

There is a slight mumble. Alec chokes. He can barely breathe.

There is a slightly louder mumble. Something moving above him. He keeps shaking violently. The ringing worsens until…..

"ALEC!" Chloe's voice calls out, clear as day.

Alec inhales sharply, opening his eyes. He stops shaking, he can see clearly, he can hear clearly. A bright substance envelopes his body, bouncing off of every corner in the room. Alec uses his newfound strength to stand up. Chloe is right behind him, not joining Titus in the firefight. Garok is staring at him, not moving. Alec holds the sword in both hands, and charges at Garok, screaming. The substance grows even brighter. It blinds Alec, and suddenly Alec is in front of Garok, who is wincing and smoking.

Alec swings the sword. Green fire spreads from the blade.

* * *

 **So, I love music. And I love playing music. I may make some form of YouTube channel or whatever where I grab my horn and just jam to music I like. About as good as a High Schooler can play anyways. Eh?**


	26. Act 2: Chapter 26: Warrior of Light

**Hey, guys! Merry Christmas! I love you guys, and I wish you all the happiest of holidays. Also, happy holidays to you guys who don't celebrate Christmas. Happy Christma-Hanuk-Quanza! Even though I'm like two days late…. Alright so, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Warrior of Light

The blade cut at Garok, a Swarm Prince. Brilliant green light creeped in the air, unholy fire spreading onto the rock in dozens of arches. Garok stepped back, the bone armor chipping at the sword and ash splurting from his skin. He screamed metallic screams, and Alec swung again. More fire, more hive screaming in fear. Garok stepped back, his three-fingered hand covering the cut in his armor. Alec slashed upward, swinging through the Prince like butter. Bones went flying, and ash cut through the air, being set alight by the fire as it lit up the ground.

Alec stood up straight, looking at his sword. The Sword of Crota was on fire, its sickly green color licking his armor. He looked at Chloe and Titus, who were staring at the hive around them, keeping their weapons trained. The hive stared at Alec, croaking in anticipation. Alec took a deep breath, grinning behind his helmet. The Sword whispered to him, telling him to prove his worth. Alec looked from the different hive faces, looking around at the crowd. He uttered one word, with confidence striking with venom:

"Next?"

A thrall started screaming, and soon dozens of screams filled the air. Tons of thrall started charging at Alec, and the acolytes and knights starting firing at them. Chloe and Titus start firing at the collection of hive who were kicked into a murder frenzy, desperately trying to keep them off Alec and failing. Alec slashed with the sword again, cutting through multiple thrall and scattering them to the wind. As if the chaos of a sword that was cutting through everything wasn't bad enough, the fire the sword was producing was spreading everywhere, and killing even more of the hive around him. The hive kept coming, and Alec kept swinging, killing hive in front of him and the fires keeping the others at bay. After seven swings, Alec slammed his blade into the ground, causing the ground to shake and the hive around him to either die or fall. Fire leaped into the air, creeping onto the walls and eviscerating the hive around Alec. There was a crack in the rock on the floor, and dust was falling from the ceiling. More hive came in, this time more organized. Titus and Chloe started moving, preventing the flanks from slamming into them. Alec did the same.

"That was fast!" Alec shouted, running into a thrall battalion and cutting through them.

"They don't like us having the sword, I guess!" Chloe shouted, firing at acolytes at the other side of the room.

"Then I recommend we keep it," Titus shouts. "Have at you!" Titus pulls his shotgun and runs into a hive line, blasting a few of them away with three precise shots to the clusters of acolytes. He turns and punches a thrall in the mouth, separating making it stagger back. Titus continues to pump lead into his hive enemies, rotating from acolyte to thrall to knight, moving in circles. He leaps in the air to reload, throws a grenade and gets back into the thick of it, while Alec slices through the hive like nothing. Chloe keeps her range, until she leaps into the air and summons a ball of bright, solar light in her fist. And with a loud crashing sound, her body is brightly illuminated in sunlight, wings of fire spreading from her back. She shoots fire from her hands, throwing balls of fire at nearby hive enemies, causing pockets of fire to burn at the hive in chaos. The hive break, staggering from the sudden fire and light filling the air, while the guardians cut through them.

Alec feels really good for about the fight, raising his fist into the air while running. "Yeah!" He shouts, before getting back-handed by a knight. Alec flew back onto the stone ground, looking up at the knight that hit him. Its head crest made of bone looks like a crown, but less like Garok's. Unlike Garok's crest, which looks like the tendrils of a maggot ready to feast, this one looks more regal. Almost like a crown. His red, encrusted body looked ancient, and he roared, deeper than the other sounds of the hive. Alec could tell that this knight was a Swarm Prince, and this Prince was older than the rest. Alec stood back up, brandishing the sword. The Sword hungered for murder and blood, Alec could feel it. So could the Swarm Prince, as it roared even louder and charged at Alec. At least, he was trying before Titus shoulder charged straight into the Prince, causing him to tuck and roll in a combat position a few yards away from Alec. Titus got to his feet, reloading his shotgun.

"Dakoor, Prince of Yul," Titus says, sounding guttural. "I remember you."

"Big ugly over here looks old enough to have been at the Great Disaster." Alec says, circling around Dakoor, who waited for an attack.

"Oh, he was," Titus says. "He killed my fourth platoon." Titus rose his shotgun, firing it at Dakoor. Dakoor, in response, rose his hand and caught most of the pellets from the shell in his arm. Alec got a sudden rush in his head, the sword compelling him to strike. And strike immediately. Alec rushed forward to the side of Dakoor, and followed what he felt in his head. He swiped up, cutting through Dakoor's skin below his bone-plated chest. Fire flew through the air, causing Dakoor to catch fire and stagger, swinging his cleaver at Alec. Alec caught it in the chest, feeling the blade cut into his armor. Alec winced, but moved forward again, following his instinct. He swung again, cutting through the bone chest piece, weakened by the fire. Dakoor staggered, a deep cut in his skin. Alec swung again, slashing through the cut and cutting Dakoor clean in half. Dakoor explodes into pieces of bone and ash, and collapses onto the ground. Titus looks at him, and Alec shrugs, not exactly sure what just happened. Alec looks at the sword, which has multiple cracks in it, bleeding white light in small amounts. Alec couldn't help but feel more violent while holding the sword, as he would not usually charge head first into an enemy line. It's almost like the sword was compelling him, and he could almost hear it speaking to him.

' _Kill. Kill. Kill,_ ' The Sword of Crota whispers. ' _Slaughter. Bludgeon. Massacre. Kill. Kill. Kill._ '

Alec ignored the voice, and almost without effort, the voice went away.

"Come on," Chloe says, coming down from the ground and her light wearing off. "Let's go rendezvous with Damascus and the others."

"What about the other Swarm Princes?" Alec asks, his sword seeming to ask the exact same question.

"I have a theory," Chloe says. "That theory being they aren't taking too kindly at three different armies fighting at their doorstep." The three make their way back to the Circle of Bones, cutting through pockets of hive on the way back.

"Titus to Damascus, how're you holding out," Titus asks through the radio. "Damascus, come in. Damascus!" No response comes through the radio.

"Let's hope we aren't too late." Chloe says. Alec agrees. They get to the Circle of Bones and see a hive line firing at a group outside, causing chaos and explosions to fill the air. Alec, Titus, and Damascus attack with three prongs. Chloe stays back, starting to pick at the acolytes' attention. They scream at each other, getting their attention while Chloe gets headshot after headshot. Before their attention is entirely on the three, Alec jump and sweeps his sword, cutting through three and the fire burning through the rest of the line. Alec gets a view of the chaos, with hive and fallen fighting all throughout the circle, and a small pocket in the center managing to carve their place in the center. Alec also sees a few humans leaping in the air from place to place, firing rocket launchers or auto rifles. Titus rolls forward and summons his Ward of Dawn, the void shield plugging up the opening. Alec watches as his armor and Monte Carlo become infused with void light, and the unholy green fire disappears entirely inside the bubble.

"What now?" Alec asks.

"Those hive in the middle of the battlefield have to be commanded by Banuk. The ones in the exterior are probably Merok," Titus says. "Get to the center, wipe out the group in the middle, and take out the rest. Go!" The three jump into action, with Chloe naturally staying back and picking off the hive from afar. Titus got in the faces of the hive in small group moving around the center. And Alec went straight to the center, slamming at the ground in the largest group. Green fire swept into the air and burned through the enemies like they were nothing. Alec felt the flames lick at his armor, flames fueled by malice and hatred, carried on by a sword. He swung and swung, cutting through the hive, which started screaming and turning their attention toward Alec. But Alec did not stop mowing down dozens of hive until he got to Banuk in the center. Banuk barely had a chance to blink, before Alec got in his face.

Banuk, Ur Prince was ugly, with his armor chipped all over the place and many gashes all over in ashy skin. His crest on his boney head was less like a crown and more like three horns curled up together, like a devilish ram. Alec swung, and was immediately floored as Banuk dodged out of the way with almost no time to react. The fire leaped through the air, creating a ring of fire around them and killing a lot of hive. Alec stumbled forward and rolled, gaining his balance as an explosion took place right behind him. The ash from an acolyte's body streaked across his armor, and he held the sword at ready. Alec could feel the Sword of Crota thirsty for murder.

Banuk charged first, swinging his cleaver. Alec dodged out of the way, and again as Banuk swung again. Alec managed to leap away from danger, kicking at Banuk's side and swinging his sword. The sword did not connect with anything, but the fire connected to Banuk's skin, burning and charring it. Banuk turned, aggressive and ready to run at it again. Alec dodged as necessary, the sword chastising him for not being assertive in the fight. As Banuk swung horizontally, Alec dropped to his knees and threw a throwing knife at Banuk's eyes, managing to hit him in the spot in between all three. Banuk roared in pain, and staggered back. Alec charged forward and swung, chipping at his armor. The sword told him to do it again, and Alec swung. Again, Alec swung. Finally, Alec slammed the ground with his sword, making fire once again lick the air. And Banuk disintegrated into the lunar atmosphere, the flames charring his ashes. Alec turned and swung, creating a vortex of fire which seared the hive around them, killing even more hive. And then someone from Damascus's unit threw a grenade, which caused the fire to ignite in a massive explosion. Alec leaped away from the ball of fire, the malicious green licking the ceiling.

"Banuk, Prince of Ur is down and out," Alec yelled, running through the circle. "I'm providing our friends some relief!" Alec ran until he saw fallen firing at the guardians cornered in the middle of the save. He leaped once, and then twice on the air, flying twelve feet in the air. And when he was over the group of fallen, he slammed his sword down toward the ground, letting momentum carry him. He crashed into the ground, fire rising up like two unholy waves. And the fallen were disorganized and confused, and it felt like it happened in an instant. Alec ran to join the group in the center.

Damascus was firing at some hive a decent set away, keeping his head down. Ava was nearby, also firing, but her hand cannon was keeping her rather restrained, and she couldn't move before due to the constant influx of fire. Artemis was doing as well as possible to lay down the fury with her machine gun, but she was also limited by the poor sight of the cave and the constant crossfire. Alec approached them, and noticed their armor looked worse for wear.

"'Bout damn time, Alec," Artemis shouted. "What's your plan on this one?"

"Cause some chaos," Alec shouted. "We look for the last Swarm Prince and clear this place out! We'll go down in history if we pull this off."

"So, Mr. History," Ava says, getting back into cover and reloading. "Do you happen to have any heavy ammunition?" Damascus hands her a heavy ammo pack and Ava heads to reloading her fancy rocket launcher.

"Scatter, and don't let them hit you," Damascus yells. "We win this fight today!"

"Send their souls screaming back to hell!" Alec adds in, leaping into action with the rest of the guardians. He watches at Ava fires a rocket blast into a hive platoon and the rocket disperses into multiple rockets. The rocket barrage throws a ton of hive off guard as the mini-rockets track down specific hive and cause chaos over a fourth of the battlefield. Alec carves through hive and fallen for a solid amount of time, and does not think. He simply moves and kills, spreading fire throughout the cave. It isn't until five minutes into the battle that Alec hears the best news he's heard all night.

"Alec, I've got our Prince here," Damascus shouts through the radio. "Sending you a signal as to where." Suddenly, the ground shakes as electricity fills the air and a massive electrical surge hits a section of hive against the far side of the field. Damascus had used his Fist of Havoc to take out a hive sect on that side of the field. Alec laughs, and runs to where the explosion came from, feeling electricity flow through the air. Eventually, he sees his foe. Merok, Prince of Eir. The knight look the same as his colleagues, except younger, and less dead. His crest happens to look horns stretching out to kill the next opponent. Alec sweeps through the remaining hive in his way, stepping through the leaping static on the ground, turning the ground bright blue. He swings around him, killing a wave of hive with the fire. And then again, killing more with fire. Merok covers his head, walking through the chaos. And Alec takes advantage, stepping forward and running the Sword of Crota through Merok's chest. Merok groans in metallic, and then his eyes stop groaning. Alec pulls the sword out, and Merok is sliced into bone and ash. And before Alec knew it, the Sword of Crota dissipated in the air. It was gone before Alec knew that the Sword had vanished.

"All right people, let's end this with a bang," Alec shouts, pulling out his Monte Carlo and mowing down the remaining hive. "We need all arc users who are charged and ready to go to show these bastards what our light can do!"

"FOR THE CITY!" Ava, Damascus, and Artemis shout. Alec runs back to the center, where all the guardians started meeting up. From there in the center, they started killing all of the fallen and hive that started approaching them. And while they held off their enemies, Damascus was throwing an absurd amount of grenades out into the ranks of the hive and fallen, laying puddles of arc energy just waiting to be ignited. And then, Artemis leaped into the air and called on her own Fist of Havoc, igniting a puddle in a bright explosion of electricity. And then, the ring ignited into a swirling vortex of sparks and fire. And to top it all off, Ava fired her rocket launcher twice, sending mini-rockets out all over the battlefield and tracing all of the hive and fallen. Explosions went off all around them, and the firing stopped as the explosions died. Any of the foes that weren't killed in the blast were picked off by the guardians immediately afterward.

They won.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The people who survived went back to the Burg Eltz and tended to the wounded. After two hours of getting settled back into the Burg Eltz, the command of the base settled everyone and sent them back into the barracks. Waiting there was Alec, Chloe, Titus, Artemis, Damascus and Ava. And they were sharing a drink.

"A toast to the Swarm Princes, burning in the brimstone pits!" Damascus shouted cheerily, gulping wine. Alec could not help but think that the action could not have been good for his exo body.

"Here-here!" Artemis shouted, downing her glass.

"A toast to those fallen, who thought they could catch us off guard! And died trying to do so, eh?!" Ava shouted, pouring and slamming another glass.

"Damn straight!" Alec shouted, downing his second glass.

"More importantly," Titus said, his voice level. "A toast to the guardians who died on this moon, watching the protectors of humanity fight against all odds. And when…while they couldn't. A toast to the men and women who died so we and any guardians born in future days could continue to fight. And could ensure that the men and women in the City can continue to comfortably have children without the threat of the Hive every time they look into the sky at night."

"I'll drink to that." Chloe said. Everyone drank to the toast. Minutes later, the forces of the moon gathered in the barracks and waited silently to hear their leaders speak. Alec, Titus and Damascus walked onto the stage, with Chloe staying behind to hear the speech. Titus and Damascus step back, leaving Alec in the center of the stage. Alec looks back at them, with his arms in a 'what gives' position.

"Real mature." Alec says. The crowd actually laughs. On the moon. Alec turns to look at the soldiers they brought here. He makes eye contact with some of them.

"We needed this win," Alec says. "We needed to take out the leadership keeping us from the rest of this moon, and we made it happen. We needed to set up a position from which to enter the cavern system, and we made it happen. We needed a way to keep ourselves hidden from the hive while operating inside the hive, and we made it happen. We needed to make the fallen creep off of our shore, and we made it happen. We needed to make broad strokes to take back this moon, and god damn it, we made it happen!" The crowd cheers, and Alec waits for them to calm down. Alec sees Chloe glance up at him, smiling.

"Because of these victories, we are one step closer to taking down Obeck and shutting down hive operations on the moon," Alec says, once the crowd calms. "So don't falter now. We keep aiming big, keep going for the next target. Strike operations are classified on Threat Level Wolf. We made history today, so let's keep going. Here's what we need from you. Artemis, I need you and Ava to track the fallen and start campaigns against them. They came dangerously close to wiping us out today and I want that to be the last time that happens. Understood?"

"Understood." Artemis shouts, her voice loud and confident.

"Ava, I need patrols out on the lunar surface continuing to make life hell for our friends on the surface. Am I clear?" Alec asks.

"Crystal, sir." Ava says.

"As for the rest of you, I want you going into the moon and fucking up all their shit. Is that clear?" Alec receives a loud applause in response, with whistling and cheering in the background. Alec nods. "Right then. You know your objectives. Dismissed." The crowd disperses and Alec goes to see Chloe, Titus right behind him.

"What's the plan, Alec?" Chloe asks.

"We go in first thing tomorrow," Alec says. "And we kill Kranox."

* * *

 **That was fun. That was A LOT of fun. Don't you guys agree? Ah. Nothing like insomnia keeping me awake until I finish writing a chapter.**


	27. Act 2: Chapter 27: Grave Robbers

**Remember when 'The World's Grave' was the second mission into the Moon Arc? We're eight chapters in, guys! This is fun. But trust, this chapter is going to be worth its weight in gold. Anyways,** **I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Grave Robbers

When morning came, Alec decided that the last thing they needed was for the Hive to catch onto their plan to break into the World's Grave. According to Eris Morn's notes, the Grave is an entire chamber in the Hellmouth, not just an archive. Although there is Hive tech guarding the Grave, and even though it should be simple enough to get to the Grave, they still need to get through an encryption so hard to crack it is practically magic. So, he told Chloe and Titus to meet him further into the Archer's Line, the name of the Particle Accelerator that crossed the surface of the Moon. He sat on top of the accelerator, Hades sending out coordinates to Chloe and Titus. He looked up from the surface of the Moon, looking at the Earth slowly rotating in the distance. He could faintly see the clouds churning in the distance, and the light of lightning faintly accenting the curve of the blue marble in the sky.

"What's the date, Hades?" Alec asks, breaking through the silence of the moon.

"December 16th, three weeks after the start of the campaign on the Moon," Hades chirps. "Nine days until the Dawning." Alec grunts, stretching his legs. He was laying down on top of the Archer's Line, partially to hide from potential Fallen and Hive on patrol, and partially to just stargaze for once on the moon.

He felt the roars of two sparrows, and he turned his head to see two figures racing toward his spot on the Line. Alec rotated his neck, leaning up and looking more specifically at the figures on the sparrows. One had the heavy, silver armor of Titus's bulk, and the other was a mixture of red and violet on Chloe's trench coat. Alec took the grappling hook had had tied to the side of the Archer's Line, and dropped it. He waited for Chloe and Titus to show up, climbing up to the top of the accelerator. The first to rear her head was Chloe, who was wearing the red coat with violet padding on the shoulders and sides. Her pants and boots were black, and so was her helmet, which had the hardened glass visor stretching from the nose to the top of the head. However, no one could tell, because all Alec could see on Chloe's visor was the reflection of his own close-eyed helmet and the Earth.

"Stargazing?" Chloe asked. Alec stood on his tip-toes for half a second anxiously, and then turned his back to the Earth, facing his target on the side of a lunar cliff.

"Almost," Alec said. "Ava scouted this spot earlier, and chose this vantage point right here to look at what we're dealing with. Right on that cliff. Over there." Alec points to the cliff, handing Chloe some binoculars shaped like a small, silver box. The box opened, revealing two glass lenses. Titus joined them, with white plates for armor with a red dragon design across the chest, making the left shoulder red and the left white. The rest of his body was heavily armored, and his helmet was angular. There was a silver crest facing backwards on his head, and his visor was slits shaped like a "t".

"We should be able to break in and get pretty far into the Hellmouth before the Hive are able to get an effective ping on us," Chloe says. "Our first obstacle are those Hive in front of us."

"Yeah," Alec said, pulling the Monte Carlo off of his back and cocking the gun. "Four acolytes, five thralls, and two knights."

"Those knights are hallowed." Chloe says, her voice completely unflinching. Alec took back the binoculars, looking at the knights standing guard at the entrance. They did not look like the regular knights they knew. They looked paler and more withered, with their three eyes glowing more fiercely and their stock frames seeming a bit thinner. Alec put the binoculars away and pondered. Hallowed knights are high champions among the hive, with their chitin frames being completely hallowed out. This made them more ferocious and agile. Alec didn't understand how, but all he knew was that they were a danger to everyone they came across.

"Alec, you and I slam into them," Titus says, pumping his shotgun. "Chloe, stay behind and knock them off their feet. Let's move." The three jump off the Archer's Line and race toward the entrance in the rock, keeping their heads down. They take cover behind a rock outcropping a little bit before the entrance. Alec notices that the entrance is a few feet wide and twelve feet tall, carved into the cliff. And next to the entrance are tall monuments of carving, not looking finished yet. Alec knows the hive worships gods, but he's not exactly sure who they are. Titus waves his hand toward Alec twice in a chopping motion. Alec nods, understanding Titus is telling him to move around the corner. Alec waits for the cue.

Chloe leaps in the air, and Alec and Titus run out of cover and around their corners. Chloe hovers in the air, glowing bright yellow like the surface of the sun. She fires six bullets, taking out three thralls while the other hive are reacting. Alec takes his opportunity and spins, drawing a throwing knife and throwing it at a thrall's head. While still in motion, he spins again and throws another knife at another thrall's head. Within two seconds, both of the thrall are knocked off of their feet by the throwing knives implanting themselves in their eyes, and they fall dead. Three acolytes turn and point at Alec, raising their weapons. Alec throws a swarm grenade, which lands on the floor and releases drones tracking their enemies and exploding. While this happens, Titus fires his shotgun twice into a hallowed knight, staggering it a bit. The other one begins to move to help its comrade, but Titus throws a grenade, which sticks to the knight's chest and explodes.

And explodes again.

Two of the acolytes are sent flying by the heat-seeking drones, killing them on impact with the nearby wall. The third one dodges the drones, firing his weapon at Alec, which makes its mark. The razors cut at Alec's armor, making him wince before he fires the Monte Carlo. The bullets draw a line from the acolyte's chest up to its face, making its head explode into fragments of bone and ash. He turns to fire at the next acolyte, who is missing its mark. Chloe's grenade lands in between the acolyte and the two knights, causing straight lines of fire to seek out the knights and acolyte. The acolyte dies, but the knight is only staggered. While that happens, Titus weaves past the knight swinging its cleaver, pumping another shell into it and punches the other knight in its face in between the armor plating. He fires another shell at the knight he punched, causing it to stagger. He turns, facing the knight that is starting to regain its bearings. Chloe's grenade hits its mark right here, and Titus fires his shotgun once more, killing the knight. The knight behind him recovers quickly, and swings its cleaver into Titus's back. Titus staggers, only getting hit again.

Alec fires his Monte Carlo at the knight's head, which blows off into bone and ash. All of the hive around them are dead. Titus rolls his shoulders and does not waste time in running into the cavern. Alec and Chloe are close behind. Hades, Tiber and Onyx appear next to Alec, Chloe, and Titus's heads respectively, providing light into the tunnel. The slope leads downward into the moon.

"We'll lose ability to transmat," Tiber says, sounding chipper. "Once we get this done, we're going to have to get out fast."

"Tracking Kranox now," Hades says, sounding less chipper. "He's deep in the Hellmouth."

"What's new?" Alec asks.

"Tombships scattering throughout the Hellmouth," Hades says. "They already know something is wrong. They're looking for us."

"Naturally," Chloe says. "The Lightburst should be able to cover our tracks, but let's be careful. The Circle of Bones is going to take us straight into the Hellmouth and to the road we need to get to. Where are they converging?"

"Outside the Circle of Bones." Tiber says, confidence thinning.

"Of course." Alec says, sarcasm masking his nervousness. Since they had to cross through the Circle of Bones with such a large amount of hive nearby, it made Alec a bit apprehensive. If they were seen, their cover would be blown immediately. So, they have to take care not to be seen by any hive. Alec noticed the sounds of creaking in the air, almost like sonar pings going off deep underwater. Alec grinned to himself, knowing that at the very least, the Lightburst would keep them covered. They went further down, continuing deeper and deeper. Eventually, they hit a flat patch and an open chasm with a black, metal bridge in the unique hive architecture spanning it. They crossed the bridge, the taps of their footsteps echoing through the chasm as produced by the soundwave predictors in his helmet. Below them, the chasm was deep and hallow, with green gas appearing in the endless length of the carved out moon.

Out of nowhere, a deep and guttural roar crashed through the silence. It made the bridge vibrate slightly, and it scared both Alec and Chloe. They stopped in their tracks, listening to the distant roar echo through the chasm. Alec developed a cold sweat.

"What the hell was that?" Alec asked, his voice croaking. Chloe stuttered, but wasn't able to make any coherent sentences. Titus stood stoic, and then looked over the edge into the seemingly endless chasm.

"Nothing good, I assume," Titus says, looking over the edge. "Maybe the Grave has…" Titus is interrupted when a black slit appears in the air, with tendrils of smoke filling the air. It quickly snaps into a green, glowing portal. And out comes the black, curved T-shaped ship with turrets shaped like knight's boomers on the sides. Alec panics, realizing that the ship is a hive tombship. Titus ducks behind the bridge, taking cover out of sight from the tombship. Alec does the same, ducking behind a pillar keeping the bridge up. Chloe doesn't move for another second, still shocked from the roar. Alec grabs her wrist and pulls her into cover, keeping her head down. Alec counted, still hearing the sound of ambient engine noise coming from the tombship. The ships travel primarily through slipspace, using portals through "alternate dimensions" to teleport troops in and out of certain places in space. Alec figured the tombship was running recon on the bridge they were crossing, and they waited for another portal to appear and the tombship to enter it. Eventually, a portal appeared in front of the tombship, and the ship disappeared.

"I…I think it saw me." Chloe says, the three starting to stand up.

"Let's not waste time, then." Alec says. The three start running into the Circle of Bones, walls on both sides keeping them isolated. All they have to do is cross one side of the Circle to the far end and they will have made it. They run into the Circle, green crystals on the walls and floor lighting the room. Alec keeps his breathing paced, thinking of the dozens of ships outside of that area. Almost as if on cue, the wall on their left exploded. Purple fire licked the air, throwing Alec and Chloe off their feet and staggering Titus. The wall crumbled collectively, a barrage of hive axion bolts crashing into the wall and leaving them wide open. Alec looked up at the surprise, looking at the view of a fleet of tombships floating in empty space, gas below them and the entire Hellmouth spanning the distance. He counted thirteen before they started fire more purple bolts at them, and Alec still had dozens more to count.

"RUN!" Titus shouted, getting the two on their feet and sprinting down the Circle. The tombships followed them, firing bolt after bolt at them but missing. Alec was sweating and time was lapsing around him, with the purple fires heating the space behind him. He didn't think, he just ran from the constant onslaught of fire decimating the rock behind him. They couldn't fight back, since the metal the ships were made of were bullet resistant. And if they stopped for a second, they would be blown to smithereens. So, Alec ran while dodging whatever bolts explode in front of him. Forty disastrous seconds later, the make it into the hall they are supposed to go down and they escape the fire licking the area behind them. Alec turns around, seeing the numerous tombships start slipping into portals to go elsewhere. He took a deep breath and continued moving.

"Too close." Chloe said as they kept moving.

"There will be a drop-off up ahead," Hades says. "Drop, turn around and continue down the right fork. That will lead you to Kranox's Hall of Wisdom."

"The hive know where we'll turn up," Titus says. "We need to make this quick."

They follow Hades's instructions, dropping off a part where the tunneling stops and drops into more tunneling. They turn around and head the right tunnel path, their ghosts lighting their way. They eventually reach an opening in the tunnel, leading into a more open space still leading in the same direction. On the ground was tubing leading into a sanctioned off doorway, and a hall leading to the left. Across from the route at the far end of the hall is a brass wall, with a knight emerging from it. The knight was hallowed, looking almost the same as the other hollowed knights. The only exception was that the crest on its head had a collection of runes on it, glowing bright yellow through the chitin and bone. Kranox has a hovering disk over his hand, which glows green and then drops into his hand. He puts the disk on his hip and takes up his boomer, the A-shaped gun with a blue, magic core in the center. Kranox roars, metallic screams filling the air. Thirteen thralls emerge from Kranox's quarters and run forwards, with two wizards and six acolytes taking up the rear.

Alec puts the Monte Carlo on his back and takes out his machine gun, poking out from behind cover and starting to fire at the wall of hive firing at him. Thrall start getting shredded through, falling over and running over one another to get to Alec. Alec almost empties his magazine and has five thrall left running at him when he notices that Kranox fired his boomer, and a big ball of blue matter was hurtling his way in a ballistic arc. Alec jumps away, narrowly avoiding the burst of particles that would have hit him like a truck. He keeps his machine gun at the ready, ignoring the crashing sphere of energy and emptying his machine gun on the thrall. Another thrall falls over, spinning before face-planting onto the floor, dead. Alec puts that on his back and pulls his Monte Carlo back out, firing at the remaining hive coming his way. Meanwhile, Titus and Chloe advance. Titus fires at few pot shots at Kranox, which hit their mark, staggering the knight. Kranox roars, and the two wizards glide in front of Titus's cover, floating gracefully in the air. They fire rapid spheres of exotic matter at him, forcing him back into cover. Chloe continues her advance, but the acolytes catch her attention. She hovers in the air for a moment, firing six times and killing two acolytes. The acolytes start firing back, forcing her into a cover position.

Alec sweeps with his Monte Carlo, killing two more thrall before he runs out of ammunition. By now, the thrall are dangerously close. Alec moves swiftly, pulling a knife from his hip and using it to slash deep into a thrall's throat. The thrall is cut down, allowing Alec to duck and avoid the second thrall sweeping with its claws. Alec leaps away, throwing the knife he used to slit the other thrall's throat into the thrall's spinal cord in its neck. The thrall falls on its stomach, and Alec turns to survey the action, reloading his rifle. While this happens, Kranox fires his boomer once again at Titus. Titus is forced to move out of cover, leaping into the air and lifting himself higher. Switching to his shotgun, Titus gets right up against one of the wizards, causing it to stop firing. He empties a shell into its face, causing the wizard to wince and lose altitude. Titus falls, pumping the gun and running throwing a grenade at Kranox. It sticks to the knight's chest, exploding in bright purple blasts twice. Titus fires another shell into his targeted wizard, dropping its shield. Titus pumps and fires one more time, knocking the wizard out of the air before he punches it with purple Light illuminated in his hand, making the wizard be blown away in shards of purple fragments and vanish into the air. Titus runs, dodging and taking some of the hits from the wizards, reloading his shotgun astoundingly fast.

While Titus is preoccupied with the wizard, Chloe pops out of cover to fire her scout rifle three more times at a nearby acolyte, landing the first shot, grazing with the second and missing the third. She pops back into cover, thinking. The other nearby acolyte would approach from the right, where Chloe had not emerged to fire. While they would attempt to flank, Chloe can act. And Chloe did act, popping out of cover while the acolytes where moving to flank and thrusting her palm at the nearby acolyte. Solar Light flashes from her hand, making the acolyte fly back and catch on fire. A second later, the acolyte explodes, taking another acolyte nearby it with him. The other two acolytes stagger, and Chloe runs forward behind the two, leaping over a metal outcropping to take cover and fire. Alec ran forward, seeing Titus being harassed by the wizard. He drew his fusion rifle and fired it at the wizard, causing it to stop firing and screech at Alec. Alec fired again, counting the radiation bursts he had let fly. After the third blast, Alec was fairly confident the wizard was dazed enough to be hit by a throwing knife. Alec drew on from his hip and threw it, but astoundingly, the wizard dodged and started rapid firing its darkness blasts at him. Chloe, seeing what was going down, fired her scout rifle three more times at the wizard, killing it.

Kranox had gotten over his fit of explosions by now, and fired his boomer at Chloe. Chloe got out of the way, but was left wide open for an acolyte. The acolyte took the shot, catching Chloe in the chest and causing blood to fly. Chloe wailed, and Titus fired his shotgun at the nearby acolyte, killing it. Alec threw a swarm grenade at Kranox, distracting it with the heat seeking drones crashing and exploding into his body. Kranox roared in pain, leaving Alec wondering how much the knight could take. While the hunter fired at Kranox with the Monte Carlo, Chloe got up and fired once at the acolyte, landing it in the head. The acolyte's head was blown off, leaving only Kranox to attend with. Alec approached while unloading his magazine into Kranox, who responded by backhanding Alec so hard he went flying. Alec rolls on the floor, groaning in pain. Keeping Kranox's attention, Titus pumped three shells into the monster. Kranox fired back with the boomer, missing Titus narrowly. In response, Chloe flew past Kranox and threw a grenade, which shot four tendrils of fire at him while Titus reloaded.

Alec got on his feet and joined the crossfire, the entire fireteam unloading into Kranox. Kranox winced and shook, losing bits of his armor and dropping his boomer before a shotgun blast from Titus made his stomach explode into ash. Kranox dropped, dead. Alec, Titus, and Chloe were left breathless, standing over the corpse of the alien knight. Their objective for weeks was to kill this hive knight, and here he is. Dead on the pavement. Alec took a deep breath, reloading the Monte Carlo.

"Heavens above, I thought that thing would never die." Alec groaned. Chloe approached the corpse, quickly snatching the metal disk from Kranox's waist. She held it in the air, observing it. The disk looked like a record vinyl, with thicker parts on the rim.

"Is this the Key to the Grave?" Chloe asks. Alec holds out his palm, summoning Hades. Hades hovers in front of the disk held up by Chloe and fires blue, analytical beams at it. In seconds, Hades turns back to Alec making a nodding motion.

"This is the key," Hades says. "The Grave is down the hall on your left." The three start moving down the hall, running as they go.

"So," Alec says. "What's the likelihood that the hive are going to be waiting for us at the bottom?"

"Not likely," Titus says. "They know we're down here, but I doubt they know where we're going or that we killed Kranox. But we need to make this fast. Any longer in the Hellmouth, and we run the risk of not making it back to the surface."

"The hive can do that?" Alec asks.

"Remember Ikora's contact? Eris Morn? She's been giving us all our information on the hive," Chloe says. "She was the leader of the fireteam that killed Crota, and the only one who made it out of the Hellmouth. The hive sealed her in here for a year, and killed the rest of her team off in the most gruesome ways. She had to sacrifice her eyes, her Light, her ghost, and her sanity in order to make it out."

"Yikes," Alec says. "And Eris is the only contact that knows the most about the hive?"

"There's also Toland, the Shattered," Titus says. "He's a legend, and apparently he was separated from his body and taken into the hive's 'Sea of Screams.' He guided Eris through the tunnels."

"What's the Sea of Screams?" Alec asks.

"Ask Eris," Chloe says, sounding irritated. "The mere thought gives me a headache." They make it through another path that takes them onto a road looking out into the chasm, back into the Hellmouth, and into a room with multiple green crystals on the floor. On the wall is a door with a symbol: two diamonds cased inside one another with sets of lines arching downward until finally meeting in a straight line.

"Ir Deschal," Titus says, venom in his voice. "Hive language for 'the butcher.' It's Crota's Sigil." Chloe approaches the door and holds the disk up to it. When nothing happens, Hades, Tiber, and Onyx scan the door and the area around the door, still finding nothing. Hades eventually hovers in the center of the room, and pulsates, his shell separating and pulsating with the shockwaves. Hades turns toward the symbol on the door and looks at it. After a few seconds of observation, he hovers down to Chloe.

"Let me see the key." Hades requests. Chloe accepts, and Hades traps the key in a tractor beam, making it hover in the air in front of the symbol. He also starts zapping at the key, making it glow green. "If I make the key identify Kranox's DNA fingerprint, and sync it up with a command to make the door open….glyphs….glyphs, glyphs, glyphs….a-ha!" The key starts separating into segments, still hovering. It projects a rune in bright green, and the door opens.

"Nicely done." Alec says.

"That….was kind of difficult," Hades says, floating by Alec's head. "Hive technology is weird." With that, the three enter the next room and the door closes behind them. The ghosts hover far in the air, projecting light. Alec looks around. All around them are hive terminals, archaic in design and function. But there are hundreds of them carved inside the walls, stacked on top of one another.

"The World's Grave…." Alec says, taken aback by the eerie beauty of the architecture in the room. The braces on the ceiling were smooth, if not demonic and the lining of the metal walls were fenced with copper tendrils. It was eerie to be in, but not unpleasant to look at. It provoked the feeling that the hive were much smarter than they originally thought they were. Before, Alec thought of the hive as mindless zombies on killing sprees. But now, there's a harsh contrast in the single room alone.

"This isn't what I'm looking for," Hades says. "This way…" Hades turns and heads further down the hall, with the three guardians following him. They walk a bit further and find themselves in a circular room, lined with even more architecture spanning the walls. And in the center of the massive room is a circular vent leading far up to the surface of the moon, although they were so far down they could barely see the surface. And on the contrary, the hole also in the center of the room kept going down endlessly. And branching in the center was a hive terminal connected to a pillar hanging upside down from the walls twelve feet up. Hades goes to investigate the terminal, zapping analytical beams at it.

"Got it," Hades says. "Those terminals outside aren't the actual database. Those are just terminals for hive to access. This here is the Grave….and there is so much! Wait….they've broken the Beckenstein limit! How is that possible?!" Alec remembered Chloe telling him that the hive were notorious for breaking the laws of physics. If they broke the Beckenstein limit, they are literally holding more data than the terminal can actually carry.

"You have to love quantum computing." Chloe says, sounding impressed.

"Wait a minute," Hades says. "There's something here. A security measure was just activated. The glyphs translate to 'Releasing Telthor, Unborn'."

"Shit," Chloe says, drawing her scout rifle. "Ogre incoming!" Titus and Alec also drew their weapons as a black puddle suddenly popped into existence in the middle of the pit, bubbling like boiling oil. And in no time, a creature lifts itself out of the puddle. It stands twelve feet tall, with its chitin looking like actual armor, and its arms and legs ready to smash something. Its head has the jawline and teeth of a thrall, just bigger. But its actual head is malformed, with no eyes appearing at all and its head sprouting tumors like the head of broccoli. It lumbers over them, roaring a deep, grating roar.

And then, Telthor- the Unborn- smashes the ground.

* * *

 **Aren't cliffhangers fun? Hehehe….**

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	28. Act 2: Chapter 28: Fury

**Boss fight! Boss fight! Boss fight! But, I get ahead of myself. As always, I do not own Destiny or its characters, ideas, ect. If you have a criticism or critique, please leave a review. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **God bless, JPLegends**

* * *

ACT II: Hive

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Fury

The fighting started immediately, right as Telthor, Unborn emerged from the black puddle above the pit. Alec didn't bother to understand the lack of physics in the situation, the hive were infamous for giving the laws of physics a wide berth. What concerned him was that a massive monstrosity- about twelve feet tall and looked like it took steroids that were also on steroids- had just come into reality in front of them, and promptly greeted Alec, Titus, and Chloe by slamming it's massive fists into the ground. The shockwave rattled the ground, sending Alec and Chloe backwards through the air and onto their backs. Alec accidentally bit his tongue in mid-air from the shock, and promptly rolled onto the ground, dropping his Monte Carlo and ending belly-down in the lunar caves. He spat blood into the interior of his helmet, filling his nostrils with the scent. He looked up, seeing Chloe suffer much of the same fate. Titus stood firm, only gaining a bit of air, but standing steadfast. He unloaded two shells from his shotgun into Telthor's tumors for eyes. Telthor promptly roared in rage and backhanded Titus across the room and onto the nearby wall. The impact left a crater in the wall about Titus's size, and the exo grunted in pain as he fell down, taking a chunk of the wall with him.

Telthor looked up at the terminal in the air, Hades hovering and extracting information from the World's Grave. Telthor purred, almost in curiosity. And then, the tumors on its forehead began to glow bright purple, and it fired a rapid series of purple plasma bolts from its forehead like a machine gun.

"HADES!" Alec yelled, reaching out to instinctively protect his ghost. Hades chirped at the incoming barrage and transmatted away, leaving behind only blue particles while the terminal connecting to the World's Grave was ripped into scrap by the purple bolts Telthor had fired. Alec got on all fours and scrambled on his hands and feet to grab his Monte Carlo, and then he stood up quickly. Hades teleported beside his head, hovering around it for a few seconds before stopping beside Alec's shoulder. Alec didn't waste time in firing at Telthor's tumors, strafing to the right as he did so. Chloe starting strafing to the left, firing on Telthor in a similar fashion. Telthor started looking between two, choosing for a few seconds which one to attack first.

"How much did you get, Hades?" Chloe asks.

"Sixty-three percent of the Grave's contents," Hades says. "That's more than what we need. And don't worry, I prioritized information regarding the sect on the moon and their operations here. After that, I just grabbed everything that wasn't nailed down."

"Good." Alec says, reaching to reload his Monte Carlo. Telthor had made his decision and looked at Alec, firing eye blasts from his forehead. Alec dived out of the way, allowing the monster to start carving into the wall behind him, and start tracking his movement. Alec knew that if those blasts got ahold of Alec, they would tear him apart in seconds. He grabbed a knife on his boot since he was kneeling and threw it at Telthor, hitting him straight in the center of the tumor the eye blasts were reporting from. Telthor winced, roaring with rage as it kept firing. It flailed, causing the eye blasts to keep carving into the wall and make massive chunks fall onto the floor like cover. Chloe glides over to  
Alec's position, smacking him on the back of his helmet.

"You weren't thinking at all, were you?" Chloe ask, her voice cold. Alec laughs nervously. Suddenly, Titus leaps onto Telthor's side, punching the beast so hard that the monster gets thrown off balance. It swings at Titus in blind rage, but the exo only slides in between the monster's legs and ends up behind Telthor. Titus then aims his shotgun at the back of the beast's knee, firing and causing it to kneel over. Titus leaps and lifts himself into the air using the Light, bright purple enveloping him and causing the air around him to appear thick and viscous. He lands on Telthor's head and pumps twice into its head, causing Telthor to scream again. This time, so loud that it causes what wasn't already firmly secured to the wall to keep falling. Telthor springs up, trying to knock Titus off. Before that happens, Titus leaps off himself, shooting at the best while he falls and running back to Alec and Chloe.

"Alec's knife left a cut," Titus says. "This thing's a lot more powerful than any ogre I've ever faced. Use cover, and use the Light. Watch out!" Telthor screams and starts firing more eye blasts at the group. Alec runs into cover, allowing him some refuge against the hail of purple energy. Titus and Chloe do much of the same, and the three start firing at Telthor full force. The bullets only manage to fly off, however, and Telthor approaches, keeping the three pinned. Before they know it, Telthor is leaping forward and smashes the ground in front of him with his fists. The force knocks Alec off his feet, but he regains balance fast and lands back on them. He keeps fire on Telthor until the hellfire forces him to retreat. Titus and Chloe do the same.

"Our bullets aren't doing anything!" Alec shouts.

"The tumors on its head are weaker than its body," Titus yells. "They were weaker when fired at, but Alec's knife made a cut deep enough to be permanent."

"We need to get it to flinch like earlier," Chloe yells. "And then we can lay on the heat!"

"We need to approach it from different angles," Titus shouts. "Chloe, Alec, you two set up right here! I'll give the signal when I'm in place." Alec swings into cover, slamming his back against the rock and metal. He takes deep breaths, breathing in the scent of blood. Titus turns around and throws his grenade at Telthor, causing it to explode twice on its tumors. Telthor flinches, taking a step back and stopping its constant barrages of bolts. Alec and Chloe emerge from cover, throwing grenades and causing the beast to be barraged in fire and heat seeking drones. They fire at the creature's tumors, causing it to flinch and waver, doing real damage. For about eight seconds, they continue laying on the heat. Alec can see a very visible scar from the continued damage on Telthor's head. However, Telthor roars and turns toward Alec.

Alec's self-defense instincts cut in immediately, and he leaped out of the way of danger. Telthor didn't take too kindly to this, as he swatted Alec out of the sky and into a slab of rock. Alec was slammed into the rock _hard_ , landing on his arm and hearing a horrible crunching noise. Alec screamed in pain, trying to remedy the pain by standing up. He probably broke his arm, he isn't using his rifle any time soon. He smells blood. He looks to see Titus leaping into the air and pumping his shotgun into Telthor's face. Telthor snorts, annoyed more than angry and grabs Titus's leg, slamming him into the rock like Alec. Except instead of Alec being bruised by the rock, Titus cut clean through it and laid belly-down on the ground as Telthor followed the attack by stomping on Titus's spine. The impact was enough to cause a tiny crater in the floor.

Alec got up, pulling his fusion rifle from his waist. It would hurt like hell, but he could still use it. Alec charged and fired a burst of irradiated particles at Telthor, which definitely found their mark and drew Telthor's attention from brutalizing Titus. After four shots, Alec fumbled with the rifle trying to reload it. Telthor stared him down, and started firing eye blasts at Alec. Alec couldn't dodge, his arm couldn't catch him. But before Telthor shot him down, there was a sharp report and a bullet went clean through Telthor's tumor-filled head. This didn't kill Telthor, but it caused him to wince backwards and roar in pain. Alec started running, thanking Chloe in his head for being such a good shot. He willed the Light in his body to heal his arm, mending the bones back together in magical science. He saw Titus doing the same, willing himself back up and reloading his shotgun. Alec looked back to Chloe, who was behind him on top of the rock fragment when Telthor took that bullet. Chloe fired three more times into Telthor's skull.

Telthor, enraged, swiped at Chloe violently on top of the rock. Chloe leaped off of the rock, dodging the hand narrowly and starts running away. But while she runs, Telthor tracks her motion and- in a dismissive manner- fires a short volley of eye blasts at Chloe. The eye blasts land, causing Chloe to wince screaming in pain and be thrown backwards. Suddenly, everything goes in slow motion for Alec. He helplessly watches as Chloe- screaming in pain- is thrown backwards by a hail of purple energy blasts. And he watches at the blasts chop clean through her, eviscerating her and cutting her into fragments that are instantly cauterized. And then, Chloe's body is heated into purple sparks in the fire, and she disappears, leaving only fragments of what appears to be glowing dust. The horrible ten years that Alec watched occurred over the span of ten seconds. Suddenly, Alec didn't care whether he lived or died. He just wanted that thing dead.

He smelled blood.

He put away the fusion rifle and pulled out the Monte Carlo, running toward Telthor, still firing at what remained of Chloe's particles in the air. He threw a swarm grenade at his head, allowing the drones to fly around and start exploding on his head in various places. The explosions confused the ogre, making his stagger and look around, like he could not see anything. Alec started firing at Telthor, who waved away the smoke and started firing purple blasts at Alec. Alec started running around the monster while the beam of death followed a few inches behind him. Titus appears behind Telthor, firing a shell at the beast and drawing attention. The two continued to circle around the ogre, confusing it and circling it for about a minute. Alec got zealous and threw a knife at Telthor's knee, which hits and causes the beast to kneel. Seeing the chance, Alec ran forward with another knife and stabbed into the beast's cut in his head, slashing at it as hard as he can. Telthor roars, making the cavern shake and dust fall from the ceiling and hover in mid-air. Alec leaps away as Telthor smashes at the ground, and Titus takes his turn, leaping in and shoving a grenade into the ogre's opening. The grenade explodes twice, knocking Telthor back and covering its face in dark, heavy smoke. Telthor grumbled menacingly, and swiped at Titus. Titus dodged out of the way, and Alec watched while reloading his gun.

Alec leaped from rock to rock behind Telthor and leaped over the hunched over creature, drawing away his cloak in the air and drawing a pistol. He unsheathed the pistol, and willed his Light to transfer itself into his gun. The gun exploded in a flash of golden light, and suddenly, it was white hot and on fire. Alec could feel himself emanating heat and giving off fire, flying through the air with a molten stream behind him. His senses were heightened, and everything seemed brighter. He looked at his target below him and descended on Telthor. He landed on top of its head, put the barrel of the pistol inside the now larger and more beaten cut the team had made, and fired three times. Each time, he has to shove down with all his might to keep the gun from recoiling out of the slit. And with each fire of the gun, Telthor roared in pain as a flare of fire shot through his body and left a piercing explosion in its wake. There was not much but ash and cinder in the air after, and Telthor tumbled causing Alec to fall off. By the third shot, Alec had lost his Light.

He fell and rolled on the ground, and looked up through the ash to see his opponent. He thought for sure that Telthor was dead. He looked up at the smoke and saw Telthor. The monster was looking thin, burned and oozing steam. But aside from that, it was alive and glowing green with rage.

Alec smelled blood.

"DIE, ASSHOLE!" Alec screamed in rage. He pulled out his Monte Carlo and started firing sporadically at Telthor, forgetting that the only real place that he could do damage is the head, which was now wide open. Telthor, in response, made his pores glow purple and fired….

Nothing. Before Telthor did anything, a bright flash of yellow light filled the room and blinded Telthor making him wince. Alec looked up at where the flash came from, and saw Chloe- consumed in fire and with flaming wings on her back- flying toward Telthor. She threw out a fireball, and it exploded on Telthor's head, encasing it in napalm and burning away its skin. Telthor croaked, and the fire kept on being pelted from Chloe's hands until the ogre was disintegrated. And then, with more smoke and larger embers added to the air, Chloe descended onto the ground. Her wings disappeared, and she stood at where Telthor stood, her coat swaying with the motion of the smoke in the air.

She turned around, straightening her coat and looking at Alec on the floor and Titus nearby, who stood with an expression like what just happened was completely normal. Alec took deep breaths. Trying to comprehend what just happened. Chloe approached him, and held out a hand.

"Alec," Chloe said, her voice carrying a rather smug intonation. "I can revive myself in Light. I'm fine."

Alec slapped himself mentally. He knew that guardians could be revived and come back from the dead. And he knew that sunsinger warlocks- which Chloe was- could will themselves to come back from the dead all on their own. He took her hand and stood up. Titus joined them, and they stood in a triangle.

"I know that was shocking, Alec," Titus says. "But I have to say. That display was rather…. erratic. And violent."

"I was…. I don't know," Alec said, his voice raspy. "I should have kept my composure. I'm sorry."

"Give him a break, Titus. We've been guardians for years," Chloe says, turning to Titus and then back to Alec. "You, meanwhile, have only been around for a few months. You aren't used to seeing people die, are you?"

"I….no," Alec said, his voice quiet. "It just…. It feels…."

"We got what we came for," Titus says, feeling the tension. "We can talk about this at the Burg Eltz. Onyx, get us out of here."

* * *

 **If I was to design the Telthor boss fight like how it is now, it would be a lot like the story. There's a weak spot on his head that you can only attack when he winces and kneels. Then, you can DPS him with whatever. To stun, use grenades or melee. And there would be particles of Light spread through the room to dunk Telthor with like in Rift from Destiny 1. This would do a lot of damage, and would also fill the super meter. Which should end the fight.**


End file.
